THE LATE GENERAL KENNA, V.C.

New Zealand Tablet, 30 December 1915, Page 11

THE LATE GENERAL KENNA, V.C.

Rev* 'Father Bernard Vaughan, S.J., in an open letter to the present-day students of Stonyhurst College, which ,is published in the Stonyhurst Magazine , speaks with the warmest appreciation of the wholehearted devotion and heroism of the many old Stonyhurst boys who are serving their King and country on the battle-fields ,of Europe, and whose" names will, as he says, live for ever in the hearts of all 'who love their Alma Mater. . ■ '

He writes at length of one old Stonyhurst boy, the late Brigadier-General Paul Kenna, Y.C., D. 5.0., A.D.C., dwelling particularly on the thoroughness of one whom he justly describes as amongst the bravest of the brave, the straightest of the straight, and the keenest of the keen. '

‘ General Kenna,’ lie says, ‘ will be remembered always by his friends 'as one who was a thorough man, a thorough soldier, and a thorough Christian. He chose the profession of arms for his career, and from the day on which he joined the colors till the hour itself of his death, his indomitable will,, like some titanic hydraulic press, forced every constituent element of his being to beat out one resultant only—thoroughness. His fixed purpose in life was to make himself a thoroughly efficient Christian soldier. That he did accomplish what he had set himself to -do will surely be the verdict of history.’ Having given instances of General Henna’s thoroughness and contempt of danger, Father Vaughan speaks of the end of his gallant career, when, encouraging his men in the trenches, he was struck by a stray bullet, and quotes General Peyton, his Divisional Commander, who says that when he was wounded, his instant request was for a priest. .. As he was carried from the trench to the field hospital v where he eventually died, he encouraged the stretcher-bearers in their difficult task, afterwards sending for them that he might thank them for the care they had taken of him. He was, says. General Peyton, ‘ a gallant, gallant gentleman ; it makes tears come to one’s eyes to think .of him.’ - : ' . , .

'As showing that General Kenna accomplished his ambition of becoming- a thorough-going Christian soldier, Father Vaughan quotes his commanding officer’s assertion; —I don’t think any man- in- the British cayalry had a higher reputation as ,'preux : chevalier, and an ideaj of a gallant and Christian soldier than Paul Kenna.’r '

- ‘ the great Catholic leader of. men-, he was by the sheer driving-force of his unaided will. He tamed his passions on: an almost starvation diet, bringing them to ; • ' heel, and forcing them to do the bidding of his ener•v- ~ gising'will. -‘But in spite of all this self-training, self- ;•••“ - combat,Wand:; self-conquest, Paul Kenna would never A; have grown the character he did” unless God had been by ! to help him. Long before he left school Paul had HV sense enough to know that no human life can reach its destiny unless backed by the grace of God. “Do your 5; y best for yourself,” he would say, “but put all your - trust in God.” Accordingly, Paul Kenna did not r :-. neglect prayer. Twice a- day he was on his knees in ' I the trench of prayer, and during the day he kept up the fire of ejaculatory aspiration like a quick-firing gun. ' This fine Catholic soldier never allowed himself to fall

short of the munition of prayer, and he kept his lines of communication with heaven, whence his spiritual rations were to come, always open. To his thinking, a Christian without prayer was in a worse plight than a soldier without arms, powerless to put up a fight. He was regularly at the Sacraments, making a point to keep up the practice of going to Holy Communion on the first Friday of each month. We have been told; “It did one good to see the General on his knees; you felt he was praying with' his whole heart in his work.”

* Well may many a soldier-pal write of him, saying: “We revered, admired, and loved him, and often wished we could be like him.” ’