Acting Sergeant John Rennie, GC (13 December 1920 – 29 October 1943) was

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

awarded the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...

for the gallantry he displayed in protecting others after a training accident at Riddlesworth in Norfolk on 29 October 1943. Serving with The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's), he was overseeing a

grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

throwing drill when a live grenade rolled back into the trench his men were in. He pushed another man out of the way, picked up the grenade and attempted to throw it to safety as it exploded. He was mortally wounded but, by his sacrifice, had protected his comrades from the explosion. "Jock" Rennie was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 1920 and had emigrated with his family to

Kitchener, Ontario Kitchener is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario, about west of Toronto. It is one of three cities that make up the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and is the regional Administrative centre, seat. Kitchener was known as Berlin until a ...

as a child.

Plaque

A plaque in his honour is displayed on the wall of the John Weir Foote VCA Armouries on the east side of James Street North in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

, Canada. "Jock Rennie was awarded the

posthumously in May 1944 for an instinctive, selfless act of heroism. Born in

Aberdeen, Scotland Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeenshire, but is now separate from the council area of Aberdeenshire. Aberd ...

, he came to Ontario with his family as a child and grew up in

. Rennie enlisted in The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's) at

in July 1940, and went overseas with them to England in the summer of 1943. On October 29, 1943, he was supervising a grenade-throwing exercise near Riddlesworth when a live grenade fell back into the trench. Rennie pushed one of his men aside and tried to throw the grenade clear. At that moment it exploded. His body shielded others from harm, but he died of his injuries." He was buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Brookwood Military Cemetery in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

.CWGC: John Rennie
/ref> JohnWeirFooteVCArmouries.JPG, John Weir Foote VCA Armouries BWood-wyrdlight-Rennie.jpg, Rennie's CWGC gravestone in Brookwood Military Cemetery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rennie, John 1920 births 1943 deaths Military personnel from Aberdeen Canadian recipients of the George Cross Burials at Brookwood Cemetery Canadian military personnel killed in World War II Accidental deaths in England Canadian Army personnel of World War II Deaths by hand grenade Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's) soldiers