Kenny Ward, solider, butcher, performer, hotel owner (victualler), and horse rider, was born in Hobart on 19/3/1875. His father Michael Ward, a Tanner, died when Kenny was just six, leaving him and his eight year sister Catherine Mary (later Catherine Mitson) in the care of their mother Catherine.;;Kenny's first career appears to have been as a butcher. He gained local fame however as a comedic performer. Several Tasmanian papers record Kenny performing at events such as the 'Butchers variety concert', Democratic League Smoke Socials, and local fundraising events. An account in the Mercury of February 1898 remarks "Kenny Ward as a comic singer, won unbounded applause, and three encores". ;;Kenny left Hobart in April 1900 with the 1st Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen in the troopship Manhattan to serve in the Boer War. After returning in 1901 he again enlisted in the 2nd Commonwealth Contingent. In the 'Jamieson Raid' Kenny was said to have been instrumental in the capture of a Maxim gun from the Boers. As a result the Maxim gun was placed at the 'Hobart Museum'. A photograph of Kenny can be found in John Bufton's 1905 publication Tasmanians in the Transvaal War.;;Kenny married Ambrozine (Ida) Smith on the 15th of March 1905 at Trinity Church Hobart.;;Kenny was a horse owner and rider with the Hobart Trotting Club. He rode and won the 1st class 1.5 mile race on his horse 'Highlander' at the Hobart Trotting Club in April 1908. He is however also noted as 'running into a post' with his horse Oakwood' in a 1909 race.;;In the early 1900s Kenny was the licensee of the Argyle Hotel (1910) and the Caledonian Inn (1916).;;In 1916 Kenny signed up to join the 40th Battalion in WWI. He was severely injured during this period of service, sustaining gunshot wounds to the face, head and left arm. He was medically discharged in June 1918.;;After the war Kenny continued to work with race horses. He is listed in 1925 as working as a 'government messenger'. Kenny passed away on 29/6/1925.