John Edward Kempe, later rector of St James's Church, Piccadilly, and his wife Harriet (née Wood).

[2][3] Kempe was educated at Westminster School and then studied applied science at King's College London from 1867 to 1870, followed by two years in the laboratory of Sir Charles Wheatstone and then three years with Sir Samuel Canning, engineer-in-chief of the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company, where he was involved with the laying of the Malta to Gibraltar telegraph cable in 1870.

In 1872 Kempe moved to Southampton to work with William Henry Preece, divisional engineer with the postal telegraph.

In 1877 Preece was appointed electrician to the Postmaster-General and in 1878 Kempe was transferred to London to act as his assistant.

In the GPO, Kempe was well liked by his colleagues, a tribute to him on his retirement describes his outstanding characteristic as a “quality of loveableness”.