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Sir Kenneth Kennedy O'ConnorKBEMCQC (21 December 1896 – 13 January 1985, aged 88) was a soldier, lawyer and judge who served in theBritish Colonial Service.
O'Connor was born inRanchi,Jharkhand,British India. He was the second child of the Revd. William O'Connor and Emma (née Kennedy). He was educated atSaint Columba's College, Dublin where he was a chorister and cricketer. From here he won a choral scholarship toWorcester College, Oxford but was unable to take it up due to theFirst World War.
In 1915, he joined theBritish Indian Army as an officer in the14th King George's Own Ferozepore Sikhs. He was awarded theMilitary Cross "for distinguished and meritorious services" at theBattle of Sharqat, during the campaign inMesopotamia against the Turks. Sir Kenneth later wrote a short account of theBattle of Sharqat. After the war he left the Indian Army with the rank of captain, though he was later made an honorary colonel.[citation needed] Having left the army, he joined the Foreign & Political Department of the Government of India, serving as the British District Commissioner inCharsadda, a district adjoining theKhyber Pass.[citation needed]
In 1922, he left India and returned to England, where he wascalled to the London Bar in 1924 byGray's Inn.[citation needed] After a short time practising at the London Bar, he became a partner in the firm ofDrew & Napier inSingapore. In Singapore, he met and married Margaret Helen Wise, the eldest daughter of the rubber planter Percy Furlong Wise, of the Devonshire dynasty.[citation needed] As Chairman of the Straits Settlements Association, O'Connor played a key role in planning the civilian evacuation of the island in the event of aJapanese invasion. He escaped from Singapore in a small, open sailing boat with unsuitable sails and a children's atlas for navigation. Despite these impediments, with three others, he successfully sailed toSumatra. O'Connor later wrote a short account of this adventure, entitledFour Men in a Boat. He had already evacuated his young family (Anthony, born 1933 and Hugh, born 1940) toAustralia, where he later joined them.[citation needed]
In 1943, having joined the Colonial Legal Service, O'Connor was appointedAttorney General ofNyasaland. After the war he returned to Singapore to reconstruct the legal practice of Drew & Napier. In 1946, he was appointedAttorney General of theMalayan Union and in 1948,Attorney General of Kenya.[1] In 1951, O'Connor was appointedChief Justice of Jamaica in which position he served until 1954. He was knighted in 1952.[2]
In 1954, he was recalled toKenya asChief Justice, serving until 1957.[3][4][5] During his time as Chief Justice of Kenya, theMau Mau Uprising was at its peak. O'Connor was the senior presiding judge in many Mau Mau trials, the most notable being that ofDedan Kimathi, whom O'Connor sentenced to death in 1957.[6] O'Connor finished his legal career as President of theCourt of Appeal for Eastern Africa from 1957 to 1962, with jurisdiction overKenya,Uganda andTanganyika.[7]
Following independence, Sir Kenneth and Lady O'Connor retired to their house, Buckland Court, inSurrey,England in 1962.[8] Sir Kenneth died on 13 January 1985, aged 88.[9]
