Paul Aloysius Kenna

Few British cavalry officers had a career quite like Brigadier-General Paul Aloysius Kenna VC, DSO. He rode in one of the most famous cavalry charges of the Victorian Army, won the Victoria Cross at Omdurman, served in South Africa and Somaliland, competed for Great Britain at the 1912 Olympic Games, and finally commanded mounted troops at Gallipoli. His life linked the age of the lance and cavalry charge with the industrial warfare of the First World War, and it ended on active service at Suvla in August 1915.

Early military career

Paul Aloysius Kenna was born at Everton, Liverpool, on 16 August 1862. After attending the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, he entered the Regular Army in 1886. The London Gazette of 24 August 1886 records Gentleman Cadet Paul Aloysius Kenna, from the Royal Military College, as appointed a lieutenant in the 1st West India Regiment, effective 25 August 1886.

Kenna later transferred to the 21st Hussars, joining the cavalry arm in which he would make his reputation. He was promoted captain on 12 June 1895, an appointment confirmed in the London Gazette. The regiment subsequently became the 21st Lancers and, following its service in the Sudan, became known as the 21st (Empress of India's) Lancers.

Omdurman and the Victoria Cross

Kenna's name entered British military history on 2 September 1898 at the Battle of Omdurman. During the celebrated charge of the 21st Lancers, Major Crole Wyndham's horse was killed, leaving him exposed amid the fighting. Kenna turned back, took Wyndham onto his own horse behind the saddle and carried him to safety. He then returned after the charge to assist Lieutenant Raymond de Montmorency, who was attempting to recover the body of Second Lieutenant R. G. Grenfell.

For these actions, Captain Paul Aloysius Kenna was awarded the Victoria Cross. His official citation appeared in the London Gazette, Issue 27023, 15 November 1898, page 6688. The Gazette specifically recorded both his rescue of Major Crole Wyndham and his return to assist de Montmorency in the attempt to recover Grenfell.

Kenna's VC was therefore not the result of a single moment of courage. His official citation records two separate acts during and immediately after the 21st Lancers' charge, both involving his deliberate return toward danger.

South Africa and the Distinguished Service Order

Kenna next saw extensive active service during the South African War. He served on the staff and in mounted operations and was promoted brevet major on 29 November 1900. His service culminated in appointment as a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order.

The award was made in the South African Honours List published in the London Gazette Supplement of 26 June 1902, Issue 27448. The Gazette stated that the South African appointments were made "in recognition of their services during the operations in South Africa", and Kenna appears in the list as Brevet Major Paul Aloysius Kenna, VC, 21st Lancers, appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order.

His South African service was followed almost immediately by another demanding colonial campaign. In September 1902 he received the substantive rank of major and was selected for mounted service in Somaliland. He commanded mounted troops during the operations there and took part in the action at Jidballi in January 1904, adding another campaign to an already unusually varied record of active service.

Cavalry commander and Olympic horseman

Kenna's abilities were not confined to the battlefield. A highly accomplished horseman, he represented Great Britain at the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games. Riding Harmony, he competed in equestrian eventing and finished 27th in the individual jumping competition. His appearance at Stockholm made the Victoria Cross recipient something even rarer: a senior British Army officer and Olympian.

By then Kenna had also risen to senior cavalry command. He had commanded the 21st Lancers and had been appointed an Aide-de-Camp to King Edward VII, with promotion to brevet colonel effective 1 December 1906. In April 1912 he took command of the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Mounted Brigade, a Territorial Force formation that would later serve as the 3rd (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire) Mounted Brigade during the First World War.

Gallipoli and his final campaign

When the First World War began, Kenna returned to active wartime command as a brigadier-general. His mounted brigade deployed through Egypt before being sent, dismounted, to the Gallipoli campaign in 1915. The cavalryman who had charged at Omdurman seventeen years earlier was now commanding troops in a campaign dominated by trenches, machine guns and artillery.

While inspecting the forward area near Chocolate Hill in the Suvla sector, Kenna was struck by a sniper's bullet and mortally wounded. He died on 30 August 1915, aged 53. He was buried in Lala Baba Cemetery, Gallipoli, Plot II, Row A, Grave 1.

His service at Gallipoli received one final official recognition after his death. General Sir Ian Hamilton submitted Kenna's name among those whose services he wished to bring to official notice. In the London Gazette Supplement of 28 January 1916, Issue 29455, Kenna appears as Colonel, temporary Brigadier-General, P. A. Kenna, VC, DSO, ADC, with the notation that he had died of wounds. This posthumous Mention in Despatches is the authority represented by the bronze oak leaf associated with his First World War service.

Legacy of Paul Aloysius Kenna VC, DSO

Paul Aloysius Kenna's career spanned some of the defining campaigns of the late Victorian and early twentieth-century British Army. From the charge of the 21st Lancers at Omdurman, through the South African War and Somaliland, to command at Suvla during the Gallipoli campaign, he repeatedly returned to active service and mounted command.

Yet his story reaches beyond the battlefield. Kenna was a Victoria Cross recipient, a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, a King's Aide-de-Camp, a cavalry commander and an Olympic equestrian. His Victoria Cross action at Omdurman remains one of the most memorable episodes in the history of the 21st Lancers, while his death at Gallipoli brought an extraordinary military career to its close in a very different kind of war.

Today, Brigadier-General Paul Aloysius Kenna VC, DSO is remembered as one of the remarkable cavalry officers of his generation, a soldier whose career stretched from the mounted charge at Omdurman to the trenches of Gallipoli.