Robert Rennie | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1862-12-15 Markham, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | December 17, 1949 (aged 86) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation | Businessman, general, philatelist |
'Major General Robert Rennie CB CMG DSO MVO VD (December 15, 1863 - December 17, 1949) was the son of William Rennie, the founder of Rennie Seeds, a successful wholesaler and retailer of both vegetable and floral seeds, and Sarah Glendinning. [1] [2] William retired in 1888, and Robert and two younger brothers John and Thomas took over management of the firm. Robert served as the firm's President until he retired in 1925, when Thomas became President.
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as "Knights of the Bath". George I "erected the Knights of the Bath into a regular Military Order". He did not revive the Order of the Bath, since it had never previously existed as an Order, in the sense of a body of knights who were governed by a set of statutes and whose numbers were replenished when vacancies occurred.
The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat. Since 1993 all ranks have been eligible.
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch of the Commonwealth realms, members of the monarch's family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the monarch. The present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is the sovereign of the order, the order's motto is Victoria, and its official day is 20 June. The order's chapel is the Savoy Chapel in London.
Robert joined a reserve militia unit, The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada in 1880. [1] [3] He distinguished himself as a marksman, representing Canada on the Bisley Team on three occasions and receiving several medals and prizes for his marksmanship. In 1887 he was promoted to the rank of provisional second lieutenant. By 1914, when World War One began, Rennie was a lieutenant colonel, and commanded the third battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. During the war he was promoted to brigadier general, and was promoted to major general on September 16, 1921
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada is a Primary Reserve regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces, based in Toronto. The regiment is part of 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. It is the only reserve regiment in Canada to currently have a parachute role. The regiment consists of the reserve battalion, the Regimental Association, and the Regimental Band and Bugles. The official abbreviation is The QOR of C, but the name is often abbreviated to QOR.
The National Smallbore Rifle Association, the NSRA, is the national governing body for all Small-bore Rifle and Pistol Target Shooting in the United Kingdom, including Airgun and Match Crossbow Shooting.
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1a rank.
Robert ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada, for the Federal riding of North Toronto after he stepped down from the family firm. [1]
The Liberal Party of Canada is the oldest and longest-serving political party in Canada. The Liberals form the current government, elected in 2015. The party has dominated federal politics for much of Canada's history, holding power for almost 69 years in the 20th century—more than any other party in a developed country—and as a result, it is sometimes referred to as Canada's "natural governing party".
In 1946 Robert and his younger brother Thomas filed objections when Jaroslav Racek filed a request to change his name to Gilbert Rennie. [1] Racek was a naturalized Canadian of Czech descent, who had lived in Canada for twenty-one years. McCutcheon suggested their objections were motivated by bigotry.
The Czech Republic, also known by its short-form name, Czechia, is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast. The Czech Republic has a landlocked and hilly landscape that covers an area of 78,866 square kilometers (30,450 sq mi) with a mostly temperate continental climate and oceanic climate. It is a unitary parliamentary republic, with 10.6 million inhabitants. Its capital and largest city is Prague, with 1.3 million residents; other major cities are Brno, Ostrava, Olomouc and Pilsen.
- Thomas and Robert Rennie filed objections that were couched in legal principles but were actually based, according to the lawyer for the Rennie brothers, upon the notion that people of foreign descent should not be allowed to assume the proud Scottish name of Rennie.
Robert had been a stamp collector, while at the family firm. [1] [3] Since it was a mail order firm there was lots of opportunity to save exotic stamps. When the value of his portfolio dropped, following the 1929 stock market crash, Robert gradually liquidated his extensive collection of valuable stamps.
