In the period from 1937 to 1940 Kennerley enjoyed success as an amateur in both billiards and snooker, appearing in each national English Amateur Snooker Championship and English Amateur Billiards Championship final held in that period.[6] He won the Billiards Championship for those four consecutive years, and the Snooker title in 1937 and 1940.[6] The correspondent for The Times reporting on the 1937 billiards final wrote that Kennerley had "the subtlety of thought which gives him imagination and, with it, scoring ability" and praised his positional play and self-control.[7] Kennerley's billiards break of 549 in the 1937 event remained the championship record until 1978,[6] and he held the record break in the snooker tournament, 69, in 1939.[8] In 1938 he travelled to Melbourne and was runner-up in the Empire Amateur Billiards Championship, losing to Bob Marshall.[4] In 1939 he made the first officially-recognised century break by an amateur player.[9]
After World War II Kennerley turned professional.[6] He announced in 1945 that he intended to become a professional after completing his national service in October that year.[10]The Billard Player, official magazine of the Billiards Association and Control Council, described him as "one of the greatest amateurs the world has ever seen... a welcome addition to the professional ranks."[10] He played in the World Snooker Championship each year from 1946 until 1954 but did not progress beyond the second round.[6] After missing the 1955 and 1956 World Championships,[11] he was one of the four entrants in 1957, when he lost his semi-final match against Jackie Rea 12–25.[12]
With the revival of snooker in 1968–69, he played in the first three series of Pot Black from 1969 to 1971. Afterwards, he continued to play occasionally in professional snooker events, making his last appearance in a major event in the 1982 Bass and Golden Leisure Classic at the age of 68. Kennerley died the following month after having his third heart attack.[4]
Everton, Clive (2012). A History of Billiards. Malmesbury: englishbilliards.org. ISBN978-0-9564054-5-6.
Hayton, Eric; Dee, John (2004). The CueSport Book of Professional Snooker: The Complete Record & History. Lowestoft: Rose Villa Publications. ISBN978-0-9548549-0-4.
Kobylecky, John (2019). The Complete International Directory of Snooker Players – 1927 to 2018. Kobyhadrian Books. ISBN978-0-9931433-1-1.
Morrison, Ian (1987). The Hamlyn Encyclopedia of Snooker (Revised ed.). Twickenham: Hamlyn Publishing Group. ISBN978-0-600-55604-6.