Thomas Kenny (VC)

Thomas Kenny
Born	(1882-04-04)4 April 1882 South Wingate, County Durham
Died	29 November 1948(1948-11-29) (aged 66) South Wingate
Buried	Wheatley Hill Cemetery
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	British Army
Years of service	1914–1918 17424
Rank	Lance Sergeant
Service number	17424
Unit	Durham Light Infantry
Battles / wars	World War I
Awards	Victoria Cross
Other work	Coal miner

Lance Sergeant Thomas Kenny VC (4 April 1882 − 29 November 1948) was a British Army soldier and an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy given to British and Commonwealth forces.

On 4 November 1915 near La Houssoie, France, 33-year-old Kenny performed an act of bravery for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

He was a private in the 13th Battalion, The Durham Light Infantry, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

In thick mist, an officer in charge of a patrol was shot through both thighs. Private Kenny, although repeatedly fired on by the enemy, crawled about for more than an hour with his wounded officer on his back, trying to find his way through the fog to the British trenches. He refused to leave the officer although told several times to do so, and at last, utterly exhausted, left him in a comparatively safe ditch and went for help. He found a rescue party and guided them to the wounded officer who was then brought to safety.^[1]

The officer Lt. Philip Brown later died of his wounds.^[2]

• Batchelor, Peter; Matson, Christopher (2011). The Western Front 1915. VCs of the First World War. The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-6057-4.
• Oldfield, Paul (2015). Victoria Crosses on the Western Front, April 1915–June 1916. Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 978-1783030439.
• Whitworth, Alan (2015). VCs of the North: Cumbria, Durham & Northumberland. Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 978-1473848221.

• Location of grave and VC medal (Co. Durham)
• DLI Biography
• [1]
• Durham County Council on-line exhibition^{[permanent dead link]}