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Cpl. John James McKenna
British Army 1st Btn. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
from:Glaslough, Monaghan, Ireland
John McKenna served with the 1st Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers from 1900 to 1908 and saw action in the Second Boer War 1900-1903 He was awarded the Queens South Africa Medal with 5 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, and South Africa 1901 and 1902 He then transferred to the 2nd Battalion R.I.F. and served until 1912 when he re-enlisted to complete 12 years service. He was posted to Home Duty, Omagh, and Devonport, England and received an Honorable Discharge.
In The Great War he served with the British Expeditionary Force, III Corps, 4th Division, 12th Brigade as a Private in the 2nd Battalion R.I.F. and saw action in the First Battle of the Aisne, First Battle of Messines, Battle of Armentieres, First Battle of Ypres Battle of Neuve Chapel, Battle of Aubers Ridge and the Battle of Festubert
On 15th of February 1915 he joined 7th Battalion R.I.F. and saw action in the Battle of Hulluch, Battle of the Somme, Battle of Guillemont, Battle of Guinchy and the Battle of Messines. The battlion then became the 7th/8th Battalion R.I.F. and John was in action at the Battle of Saint Quentin where he was severely wounded on the 30th of March 1918.
He was transferred to the 3rd Reserve Battalion for hospitalization and recuperation then received an Honorable Discharge
He was awarded the 1914 Medal (Mons Star), Victory Medal and British War Medal This the Service Record I have extrapolated by comparing Pension Medical Records, available British Army Service Records, and Official British Military Operations Records
My Grandfather, John James McKenna was born in Emyvale, Co Monaghan, Ireland in 1883. His Father was a shoemaker. In 1900 He enlisted to fight in the Second Boer War. His steady income from soldiering enabled his father to purchase the farm they had been leasing for many years, and to put on a new slate roof. In 1912 he married and returned to civilian life in Belfast where he was a tram driver. Swept back into service in 1914, he survived the conflict and went on to serve in the Irish Republican Army, and Irish National Army from 1920 to 1923. Unable to reclaim his job in Belfast, they departed Ireland. In October 1923, he and family of six arrived in the United States aboard the USS Samaria. They settled in Lockport, Illinois, where he worked mostly as pipe fitter with the railroad. He passed in December 1950 in Sacramento California. Though he was only 5 feet 4 inches and 115 pounds when he enlisted, he proved to be a formidable warrior, and ultimate survivor.
