The words of Andrew Denison, grandson of Colonel AA Kennedy, on the presentation of the banner (shown above) given to Colonel Kennedy by members of the Chinese Labour Corps.
I thought I would tell you a little about my grandfather, Col. AA Kennedy, and how the magnificent banner that you are about to see came into his possession.
My grandfather was a Scot, from Glasgow, and was a shipbroker in the late 1890’s and early 1900’s. By all accounts he was a dignified and gentle man, much loved and respected by those who knew him.
He was also a member of the Territorial Army and served with the Cameronians, 5th Battalion Scottish Rifles, in South Africa in the Boer War in 1900-1901, and then again in 1914 with the outbreak of the Great War.
He served in France throughout the conflict and in July 1916 was badly wounded at the Battle of The High Wood, itself part of the great Somme offensive of the summer of that year. He was shot in the face, lost his left eye and suffered severe facial injuries.
Interestingly, he was also one of the first recipients of plastic surgery, or reconstructive facial surgery, which at that time was very much in its infancy. Judging from the photographs of him after the war, they did a pretty good job, as he was not obviously disfigured in any way.
On his return to active service in late 1917 he returned to France and was placed in command of a group of Chinese labourers of the CLC. We do not know how long this assignment lasted, nor exactly what it consisted of, but we do know that at the end of his command he was ceremoniously presented with this banner by the men of ‘his’ CLC.
It was clearly a much valued possession and it was kept by him and then his daughter, my mother, until it was re-discovered almost 100 years later by me and my brother earlier this summer.
We were very keen that this piece of history be found a proper home, and are pleased and honoured to be able to present this banner to the Oriental Museum at Durham University and to Steve Lau so that it may, in its own small way, contribute to this important campaign to recognise the contribution, and sacrifice, made by the men of the Chinese Labour Corps almost a century ago.
It is difficult to put into words how grateful we are to Andrew and Simon Denison for this generous, inspiring and incredibly precious gift.