Major General Robert Rennie (December 15, 1862 – 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. William retired in 1888, and Robert and two younger brothers John and

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

took over management of the firm. Robert served as the firm's President until he retired in 1925, when Thomas became President. Robert joined a reserve militia unit,

The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada ("In peace prepared") , colours = None (Rifle regiments have no colours) , march = , mascot = , battle_honours = See #Battle honours , website ...

in 1880. 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 Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. By 1914, when World War I began, Rennie was a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

, and commanded the third battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. During the war he was promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...

, commanded the 4th Canadian Brigade of the

2nd Canadian Division The 2nd Canadian Division (2 Cdn Div; french: 2e Division du Canada) is a formation of the Canadian Army in the province of Quebec, Canada. The present command was created 2013 when Land Force Quebec Area was re-designated. The main unit housed ...

, and was promoted to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

after the war on September 16, 1921 Robert ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for the

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, for the Federal riding of North Toronto after he stepped down from the family firm. In 1946 Robert and his younger brother Thomas filed objections when Jaroslav Racek filed a request to change his name to Gilbert Rennie. Racek was a naturalized Canadian of

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descent, who had lived in Canada for twenty-one years. McCutcheon suggested their objections were motivated by bigotry. Robert had been a stamp collector, while at the family firm. Since it was a mail order firm there was much opportunity to save exotic stamps. When the value of his portfolio dropped, following the

1929 stock market crash The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...

, Robert gradually liquidated his extensive collection of valuable stamps.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rennie, Robert 1862 births 1949 deaths Canadian generals of World War I Canadian military personnel from Ontario Canadian philatelists Canadian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Canadian Companions of the Order of the Bath Canadian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Canadian Members of the Royal Victorian Order Businesspeople from Ontario Queen's Own Rifles of Canada officers