ARABZONE’S Andy Boyd thanked me for relaying his Harp story and reckoned he should give readers a bit of background information.
“I was doing a search for Dundee Hibs players during the First World War, trying to confirm details through newspaper reports,” he said.
“Things such as regiment, killed or wounded, family members, addresses.
“During this search, I came across a report of George Kennedy being killed in action.
“This report mentions that George had played for Montrose (confirmed) and also in a benefit game for Dundee Hibernian.
“Now, it could be that he is one of the many ‘AN Other’ or ‘Newman’ listed players who appear in the teamlines of the time.
“It is also possible he played for the pre-1909 Dundee Hibernian team but this seems unlikely given his date of birth.
“Anyway, this led me to contact Mike Watson to find out if he had the Hibs team for the Harp game.
“This prompted the ‘What Harp game?’ reply and a few hundred emails since regarding Dundee Hibernian history.”
Andy continued: “I then decided to uncover more information about George Kennedy.
“He was born in Dundee on August 11, 1888, to Mary Kennedy (no father named).
“He married Jessie Lesslie in Dundee on July 16, 1912, with Charles Lesslie Kennedy being born in Dundee on October 2, 1913.
“George was killed in France (or Belgium) on November 13, 1914.
“With no known grave, he is remembered on the Menin Gate in Ypres (Belgium).
“He was a railway porter at Wormit when he enlisted.
“He was previously a printer machineman (1912 wedding) at DC Thomson.
“It’s easy to get sidetracked doing this kind of research but, if it leads to confirming even a small detail, it is worth it.”
If you’ve got a story to share with John, email: jbrown@dcthomson.co.uk.
This article originally appeared on the Evening Telegraph website. For more information, read about our new combined website.