Victorian soldier killed in WWI identified in unnamed grave 105 years after death

The discovery of Lieutenant James Kennedy’s body in an unnamed grave in France is the final chapter in a remarkable wartime love story.

Lieutenant James Kennedy was killed in World War I, months after marrying an army nurse from Geelong, whom he met en route to the war, and becoming a father.

A Victorian soldier killed in World War I has been identified in an unnamed grave in France more than a century after his death.

The discovery brings closure to James Kennedy’s four generations of descendants, and marks the final chapter in a remarkable love story.

Lieutenant Kennedy’s unmarked headstone near the battlefields in France will be replaced within months with one bearing his name and service details, honouring his sacrifice to the nation.

His grandson, Mark Kennedy, said it was a “small miracle” to finally learn where his grandfather was buried after trying to solve the mystery for more than 30 years.

“We’re very excited to finally have some idea what did happen because it was a family mystery – he just disappeared,” Mr Kennedy said.

“It will be nice for the family to think he’s been recognised, not just lost in the horrible shambles that was the Western Front.”

Lt James Kennedy’s unnamed headstone will now be replaced with one bearing his name and service details.

Mr Kennedy, 74, described his grandparents’ love story as “a great wartime romance”.

“It’s a great shame they weren’t able to be together very long, having only been married about nine months,” he said.

Veterans’ Affairs Minister Andrew Gee credited detective work by Fallen Diggers Incorporated and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for the startling discovery.

“Thanks to painstaking research over a number of years, Lt Kennedy’s family now know his final resting place and he can be given the memorial he deserves,” he said.

“It is pleasing that, as we commemorate Remembrance Day, we have been able to bring some closure to another Australian family whose loved one lost their life fighting for our nation.”

Born in Clarendon, near Ballarat, Lt James Mark Kennedy was already a war veteran when he was shipped off to WWI.

He served with the South African Constabulary (SAC), a paramilitary force under British Army control, in the Boer War of 1899 to 1902.

Lt James Kennedy's war medals.

Mr Kennedy said his grandfather met Lottie Kendell, an Australian Army nurse from Geelong, after both boarded troopship Kyarra at separate Australian ports, bound for the Middle East in 1915.

“My grandmother said they met on the wharf at Fremantle, and they must have hit it off, well and truly,” he said.

After fighting at Gallipoli with the 26th Battalion of the Australian Infantry Force, Lt Kennedy married Lottie on February 29, 1916, at Cairo’s famous Shepheard’s Hotel.

Lt James Kennedy married army nurse Charlotte ‘Lottie’ Kendell, from Geelong, on February 29, 1916, in Cairo, Egypt.

Army nurse Lottie Kendell, from Geelong.

Days later, Lt Kennedy was sent to the Western Front, leaving behind his new wife, who gave birth to their son, Bruce, four months later.

Lt Kennedy was seriously wounded at Pozieres in France when his son was only a few weeks old.

While he recuperated with his wife and baby in Scotland, she urged him to take a safer role.

“Family rumour had it that he was actually offered a staff position, based on his previous experience with the SAC,” said Mr Kennedy, who lives in Canberra.

But Lt Kennedy insisted on returning to his unit.

“He must have gritted his teeth and shown a fair bit of courage to go back, because he knew what it was like on the front,” Mr Kennedy said.

Lt Kennedy’s wife and son never saw him again.

Lt Kennedy is buried in this unnamed grave at Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery in Souchez, France.

Army nurse Lottie Kendell, from Geelong, met James Kennedy en route to the war.

Three weeks later on November 5, 1916, while leading his platoon during the Battle of Flers, Lt Kennedy, 37, was killed.

With the unit under heavy bombardment and recovery efforts hampered by thick mud, his remains could not be recovered.

In 1925, the body of an Australian officer wearing a Boer War medal ribbon was recovered from the area where Lt Kennedy was last seen, and buried nearby in an unnamed grave at Cabaret Rouge British Cemetery.

Recent research by Fallen Diggers Incorporated has established that Lt Kennedy was the only Australian officer missing in that vicinity with a medal for Boer War service.

Fallen Diggers Incorporated has now helped identify 37 Australian WWI soldiers.

Lt James Kennedy's widow, Lottie, and their son, Bruce.

Lt Kennedy’s son, Bruce, photographed in about 1919.

Mr Kennedy said his grandmother returned home to Geelong with her baby after her husband was killed, and kept his wartime portrait on her bedside table for the rest of her life.

“It was only a very short time, but she would have had some great memories,” he said.

“He must have been a pretty impressive guy.”