William Alexander Kennedy was born in St Johns, Newfoundland, Canada around 1897 to 1898. His parents were Scots who had emigrated to start a family. His father, Thomas Clark Kennedy (1855-1939), was from Kirkcowan near Wigtown, and worked in wholesale grocery.
William’s grandfather was a farmer in Kirkcowan (Kildanoch Farm of 1000 acres) and while Thomas worked on the farm in his teenage years he emigrated. He married there in 1881 but his wife gave birth and died, all in the same year.
In 1885 Thomas married William’s mother, Mary Paterson (1858-1919) from Stonehaven, in Partick. The following year they were back in Newfoundland and had seven children there (including William), three of whom died there (Marion, Thomas and Margaret). Thomas and Mary returned to the UK in 1901, and had two further children, both of whom died (Lily 1904, Agnes 1907).
Thus of nine children only four survived – James (1886-1968), Nellie (1893-?), Mary (1896-?), and William, who was the youngest.
In the 1911 Census the family lived at 2 Chapelton Terrace on Drymen Road. This 1914 map shows the location:
This is the best image I can get from Google Street View, facing north up Drymen Road:
The Census returns shows William’s father was employed by a wholesale grocer:
When the First Word War commenced, William joined up. Given he is recorded as being 13 years of age on Census Day 1911 (2nd April) he must have either joined up on his 18th birthday or very close to it because by November 1916 he was a lance-corporal in the 16th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry, serving in the front line in France.
Here is a photo from around this time:
The series of attacks collectively known as the Battle of the Somme had started on 1st July 1916 and hence had been going on for five months driven in part by the need to relieve pressure on the French armies fighting at Verdun and partly to insatiable optimism at British HQ that with one more push the German line would break.
The 16th HLI were part of an attack on 18th November 1916 east of Beaumont Hamel (see map below). It reached the German trenches, codenamed Munich and Frankfurt, but was beaten back and William was killed. This was officially the last day of the battle for 1916.
Here is a Google Earth view of approximately the same area:
If William was buried, the location of his grave was lost and he is named on the Thiepval memorial.
His mother died in 1919 and his father married for the third time. He died at 41 Whitehurst, Bearsden in 1939. William is commemorated on their gravestone:
William’s brother and sisters settled in America or Canada (Los Angeles Times 13th November 1939):
