John Patrick Kenneally

John Patrick Kenneally VC (15 March, 1921–27 September, 2000) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Details

He was 22 years old, and a Lance-Corporal in the Irish Guards, British Army during the Second World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 28 April 1943 at Dj. Arada, Tunisia, Lance-Corporal Kenneally charged alone down the bare forward slope straight into the main body of the enemy about to make an attack, firing his Bren gun from the hip; the enemy were so surprised that they broke up in disorder. The lance-corporal repeated his exploit on 30 April when, accompanied by a sergeant, he charged the enemy forming up for assault, inflicting many casualties. Even when wounded he refused to give up, but hopped from one fire position to another, carrying his gun in one hand and supporting himself on a comrade with the other.

He was remembered in Winston Churchill's famous broadcast speech on 13 May 1945 "Five years of War", as having defended Ireland's honour:

"When I think of these days I think also of other episodes and personalities. I do not forget Lieutenant-Commander Esmonde, V.C., D.S.O., Lance-Corporal Kenneally, V.C., Captain Fegen, V.C., and other Irish heroes that I could easily recite, and all bitterness by Britain for the Irish race dies in my heart. I can only pray that in years which I shall not see, the shame will be forgotten and the glories will endure, and that the peoples of the British Isles and of the British Commonwealth of Nations will walk together in mutual comprehension and forgiveness."

N.B. For information on the above see Lieutenant-Commander Esmonde V.C. and Captain Fegen V.C.

Further information

Early life

John Patrick Kenneally was born "Leslie Robinson" at 104 Alexandra Road, Balsall Heath, Birmingham. His mother was Gertrude Nowell Robinson, the 18-year-old daughter of a Blackpool pharmacist who had been sent to live with relatives in order to conceal her son's illegitimate birth. His father was Neville Blond who would later become chairman of the English Stage Company and marry Elaine Marks, the Marks & Spencer heiress.

Maintenance from Blond enabled Robinson to be initially educated at the privately run Calthorpe College. He later attended Tindal Street Junior Council School and then King Edward VI Five Ways.

Military career

Robinson joined the Royal Artillery TA on his 18th birthday. He was assigned to an anti-aircraft battery and overstayed a period of leave. Robinson was sentenced to a period of detention at Wellington Barracks, run by the Irish Guards. He was impressed by their high standards and applied for a transfer but was rejected.

Robinson then deserted and joined a group of itinerant Irish labourers, eventually making his way to Glasgow. When one of them returned to Ireland he obtained his identity card and used it to enlist in the Irish Guards. Robinson, now known as Kenneally, finished his military career in the newly formed 1st Guards Parachute Battalion. He bought himself out of the army in July 1948 in order to be with his wife and children.

Later life

Kenneally went in to the motor trade after the army and remained in it for the rest of his working life. He briefly appeared in the news again in 2000 when he published his autobiography and wrote to the Daily Telegraph rebuking Peter Mandelson for calling the Guards “chinless wonders”.

The medal

His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Guards Regimental Headquarters (Irish Guards RHQ) "(London, England)".

References

*"Kenneally, VC", John Kenneally, Kenwood, November 1991, ISBN-13 978-0951823705
*"The Forgotten Hero of Balsall Heath" (Chris Sutton) in "The Balsall Heathan" No.276, June 2008, St. Paul's Community Trust
*Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
*The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
*Antoni Chmielowski, Edwin King

External links

* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2000/nov/07/guardianobituaries Obituary in "The Guardian"]