James Henry Turnor KENYON

Captain James Henry Turnor Kenyon MRCVS was born in Manchester about 1851, the son of an iron merchant. A contemporary Ashbourne News obituary records that his father died while Kenyon was still a child. He chose veterinary surgery as his profession and studied at Dick’s New Veterinary College in Edinburgh, qualifying on 16 April 1874. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons’ war-memorial research confirms both the spelling Turnor and that qualification date.

Kenyon built a long civilian career in Derbyshire. His 1918 obituary described him as one of the best-known veterinary surgeons in the district and stated that he had practised in Derby for more than thirty years. He was particularly well known among agriculturalists in Ashbourne and the surrounding countryside. He also held the certificate of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland.

When war came in 1914 Kenyon was already in his sixties. Despite his age he offered his services to the War Office. His experience with horses and their diseases was accepted, and he entered the Army Veterinary Corps as a Lieutenant before later being promoted Captain. His home-service postings included Aldershot, York, Bradford and Leeds.

Around Whitsuntide 1918 he became ill and was admitted to hospital in Leeds. He was later transferred to the Savoy Military Hospital at Blackpool and eventually returned to his home at 21 Macklin Street, Derby. Soon afterwards he became seriously ill again and died from a haemorrhage on Saturday, 28 September 1918, aged sixty-seven. He left a widow and two married daughters.

Kenyon was buried in Derby (Nottingham Road) Cemetery. The local newspaper reported that he received a full military funeral. His professional memorialisation by the RCVS shows how the veterinary war effort depended not only upon young men sent overseas, but also upon older practitioners whose experience was used in the home service.