Lieutenant Colonel Mark Tennant, CM, ED, CD (June 27, 1913 – December 29, 1997) was an alderman of the

City of Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, making ...

, an inductee of the Order of Canada, and a long-serving member of Calgary's military community. He served on the Calgary city council from 1958 to 1961 and 1963 to 1968.

Early life

Mark Tennant was born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

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. He was educated at St. Rose du Lac and later moved to

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. In 1925, Tennant joined the

Royal Canadian Army Cadets The Royal Canadian Army Cadets (RCAC; french: Cadets royaux de l’Armée canadienne) is a national Canadian youth program sponsored by the Canadian Armed Forces and the civilian Army Cadet League of Canada. Under the authority of the National ...

, and later joined the Militia, enlisting in the

South Alberta Regiment The South Alberta Regiment (SAR) was a regiment of the Canadian Army that existed from 1924 to 1954. Originally infantry, in February 1942 it became an armoured unit. During World War II the Regiment fought from July 1944 to May 1945 in France, Be ...

War service

Tennant enlisted in the Canadian Active Service Force on August 27, 1939, when Militia units across the country were placed on active service. Receiving regimental number M7, he became a Gunner in the 20th Anti-Aircraft Battery,

Royal Canadian Artillery , colors = The guns of the RCA themselves , colors_label = Colours , march = * Slow march: "Royal Artillery Slow March" * Quick march (dismounted parades): "British Grenadiers/ The ...

. He soon transferred to

The Calgary Highlanders The Calgary Highlanders is a Canadian Army Primary Reserve infantry regiment, headquartered at Mewata Armouries in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The regiment is a part-time reserve unit, under the command of 41 Canadian Brigade Group, itself par ...

with the rank of

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

. Tennant was appointed quickly to the position of Platoon Sergeant Major, and then commissioned. He earned the nickname "The Green Hornet", after the comic book and radio serial character of the same name, because he "always knew what the bad guys were doing" during his turn as orderly officer. He was a captain by the summer of 1942, and commanded Support Company in Normandy. Promoted major in August 1944, he was severely wounded at

Hoogerheide Hoogerheide is a village in the municipality of Woensdrecht, North Brabant, Netherlands. The name "Hoogerheide" means "High Heath" in English. The Grand Prix Adri van der Poel cyclo-cross race is held annually in Hoogerheide. The village was fir ...

in October, but returned to the battalion in 1945 to see the end of the war.

Post war

After the war Tennant served as the Training Officer of the Calgary Highlanders, now a Militia unit again, and in 1948, he became Second in Command of the Regiment. In June 1950, Tennant married Joyce Jalland, a marriage that endured until Tennant's death. He commanded the Highlanders from 1953 to 1956, retiring from the military in 1962. In civil life, Tennant founded the North Hill Auto Body Works. In 1958, he was elected alderman for the City of Calgary, a post he held for eight years all in all.Calgary "Aldermanic Galleries" After being elected in 1967, he left office halfway through his two-year term. Lorne Ander was elected in 1968 to finish Tennant's term. On July 13, 1977, he was appointed Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of The Calgary Highlanders, remaining in that position into 1981.

Honours and awards

In June 1981 was made a Member of the Order of Canada. He had never been decorated for bravery during the Second World War, but did receive three Mentions in Despatches. His Order of Canada citation reads: On the fiftieth anniversary of Holland's liberation in May 1995, the City of

Doetinchem Doetinchem (; Low Saxon: ) is a city and municipality in the east of the Netherlands. It is situated along the Oude IJssel (Old IJssel) river in a part of the province of Gelderland called the Achterhoek. The municipality had a population of i ...

named a park "Mark Tennant Plantsoen - A Canadian Liberator". Mark Tennant was buried with full military honours in 1997; his casket was draped with the

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in honour of his request, rather than the national (maple leaf) flag.

References

Calgary Highlanders website

Order of Canada citation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tennant, Mark Calgary city councillors Members of the Order of Canada Politicians from Winnipeg 1913 births 1997 deaths Canadian Army personnel of World War II Calgary Highlanders officers Calgary Highlanders soldiers Canadian Army officers Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery officers Canadian Militia officers Canadian military personnel from Manitoba South Alberta Regiment