Battalion 2nd in Command (2IC) 1st Battalion 48th Highlanders of Canada 1944-45
Commanding Officer, Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment
George Everett Bristol Renison was the son of the Bishop Metropolitan of Ontario. He joined the 48th Highlanders of Canada in 1937. Lt Renison was among the first officers selected to join 1st Battalion, 48th Highlanders of Canada (CASF) on mobilization in September 1939, serving as the Battalion Signals Officer (Sig O). While in the UK he was also attached to serve as General Staff Officer 3 (GSO 3 – Operations) at 1 Canadian Army Training Brigade (1 CATB). In Nov-43 Maj Renison was appointed Brigade Major (BM) 1 Canadian Infantry Brigade (CIB) . On 15-May-44 while serving as GSO 2 – Intelligence of 1st Canadian Division, he was gravely injured when the jeep in which he was travelling hit a box mine. Travelling with him was Lt David Dickie, a Highlander serving on his staff – who was killed. Major Renison recovered and returned to the Highlanders, serving as Battalion 2nd in Command (2IC) during the battles for the Lamone River in December 1944. Later in North-West Europe during the battles in the Reichswald Forest he was appointed as Commanding Officer, the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, serving with them until the war’s end.
After the war, He founded W.H. Smith Canada Ltd., which under his leadership grew from one to close to 200 stores. He served as Chairman, until his retirement in 1982, and was also Chancellor Emeritus of Renison College at the University of Waterloo, and Honorary Colonel of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment. He was instrumental in the publishing of the 48th Highlanders history – “Dileas” in 1957.
