James Kennaway

James Kennaway (1928-1968) was born in Auchterarder, Perthshire, and attended Glenalmond College. His father was a solicitor and his mother a doctor; his family life was comfortable, but marred by the death of his father when James was twelve, an occurrence that he claimed tainted much of the rest of his life. His best known novel was his first, Tunes of Glory, first published in 1956, which was based on the experiences of his National Service, spent in the Cameron Highlanders and later with the Gordon Highlanders on the Rhine. After studying at Oxford he joined a London publishing firm, and married a fellow Oxford student, Susan Edmonds. He died aged forty, after suffering a heart attack whist driving.