Charles Kennedy, 5th Marquess of Ailsa Passes Away

Today in Masonic History Charles Kennedy, 5th Marquess of Ailsa passes away in 1956.

Charles Kennedy, 5th Marquess of Ailsa was a Scottish peer.

Kennedy was born in Scotland on April 10th, 1875. He was educated at Eton College. He also attended the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester, England.

On January 27th, 1894 Kennedy was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, a line infantry regiment of the British Army. He resigned his commission in May of the same year.

During the Second Boer War, Kennedy fought as part of an Australian regiment called the Prince of Wales' Light Horse. He was a captain with the unit. During the war he received the Queen's South Africa Medal with three clasps which indicated the campaigns in which he served.

After the Boer War, Kennedy moved to Wyoming in the United States. He lived there until around 1910. He also lived in Nevada, Missouri and Iowa, leading up to World War I.

In 1914, Kennedy returned to Scotland to serve during World War I. Once in Scotland he enlisted with the Ayrshire Yeomanry, a Army Reserve unit of the British Army. In a correspondence he sent during World War I he indicated he had been declared as unfit for overseas duty and had been made an area gas instruction officer. He also indicated he was attached to the 18th Division in France on an instruction tour. He resigned from the Ayrshire Yeomanry in 1921.

Kennedy was married twice, the first last 6 years starting in 1925. In 1931 his first wife passed away. He married again in 1933.

Kennedy passed away on June 1st, 1956.

Kennedy was a member of Acacia Lodge No. 11 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He also joined the local York Rite, Chapter, Council and Commandery (Knights Templar). He demitted from the Acacia Lodge and the York Rite bodies in 1921. In 1919, Kennedy sent a correspondence to his Royal Arch Chapter, informing them of his efforts in the war. There is no indication he joined another lodge in Scotland.

This article provided by Brother Eric C. Steele.