Son of Alexander and Eliza MacDonald, 18 Roxburgh Street, Greenock. Grandson of  Findlay Luke, Ardkinglass, Loch Fyne. Hs mother died in childbirth along with a baby brother less than 24 hrs later.  Thereafter he was brought up by his Aunt Margaret Luke 

Kenneth attended school at Holmscroft Elementary and Higher Grades School, Greenock during his youth. Later he was employed as a clerk at the Cartsdyke Saw Mills and afterwards as an Apprentice Joiner with Caird and Co. Ltd.

Unknown to many Kenneth had a talent for poetry and was published under the pen name ‘Ard Var’. Below is a snippet of one of his poems. 

Lament for a fallen hero

"But as they stood there in that solemn hour,

And thought of the boy who was dead, the flower

That was crushed in the bloom of its beauty,

The Hero who died on the altar of duty,

Down their wrinkled cheeks, hard, brown, and gritty,

Rolled sacred, blessed tears of pity."

Kenneth enlisted in October 1915, completed his training at Dunoon and served on the front lines with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from June 3rd 1916. He was killed in action at Beaumont Hamel, part of the Battle of the Somme, on November 13th 1916. Kenneth, along with his fellow comrades who died here, is remembered with memorial here, in the form of a Celtic cross. 

Kenneth was described as “a good soldier who was always willing to do his duty” and after Kenneth's death his parents received a letter in which they were told “your son fell like a true soldier with his face to the foe, well inside the German trenches”. 

Newspaper Clippings relating to Kenneth Campbell Macdonald

Kenneth MacDonald

Kenneth MacDonald

Kenneth MacDonald

Kenneth MacDonald