A/Captain Josiah Alexander Chancellor Kennedy

This is the history of Josiah Alexander Chancellor Kennedy ("JACK") who signed up in Canada with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) as a Private with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI), was wounded and recovered, then rejoined the war as a 2nd Lieutenant and then Acting/Captain with Royal Irish Rifles (RIR) of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Private Josiah Kennedy has two sets of Attestation Papers and thus we refer you to his web site for further details. He first enlisted on November 10, 1914 but was found to be under age and thus he re-enlisted on February 9, 1915.

Grandfather Kennedy joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force in Canada, where he trained prior to his embarkation to England for further training. Initially attached to the CEF 30th Battalion (later designated 30th Reserve Battalion and absorbed by the 1st Reserve Battalion) he was transferred to the 16th Battalion (Canadian Scottish). From there he moved to the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry "Reinforcements" and then to the PPCLI in the field (France) in March 1915.

On May 10, 1915 Grandfather Kennedy was wounded in the battles at Ypres (Flanders, Belgium) in the vicinity of Bellewaerde Lake. After recovering from his wounds Jack rejoined the Princess Patricia's, but was again struck off strength due to additional medical complications, as described elsewhere within this site.

After travel back to England for medical treatment (including surgery), Jack completed officers training and then signed up this time not with the CEF and the Princess Patricia's but rather with the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) and the Royal Irish Rifles. The dates would suggest that this is about the time that the CEF was undergoing reorganization and a number of CEF soldiers were accepting training as officers for subsequent posting to BEF units. The records show that Jack signed up with the RIR in October 1916 and was later promoted to "Acting Captain" when he took over a Company. He was captured by the Germans in March 1918 and release in November 1918. He was discharged in July 1919.

For more information, please continue to the web site for details:

Web Site of A/Capt. Josiah Alexander Chancellor Kennedy