Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthAugust 14, 1889
Place of BirthWhitley, Northumberland
CountryEngland
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinWilliam Renner, father, Eriksdale, Manitoba
Trade / CallingCarpenter
ReligionChurch of England
Service Details
Regimental Number3307559
Service Record Link to Service Record
BattalionSpecial Service Company
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchNo 10 Canadian Garrison Regiment
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Address at EnlistmentEriksdale, Manitoba
Date of EnlistmentFebruary 15, 1918
Age at Enlistment28
Theatre of ServiceCanada
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathApril 29, 1962
Age at Death72
Buried AtLake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario
Plot48E-45-1

Renner, Charles Mark

Charles Mark Renner was born on 14 August 1889 in Whitley in the registration district of Tyne, Northumberland, England. His father William Renner, a builder, was from Newbiggin while his mother Fanny Elizabeth Thompson was from Newcastle, both in Northumberland. The couple married on 18 August 1886 in Tynemouth. Children born to the family in Whitley were William Gilbert (1888), Charles, Margaret Elizabeth (1890), and Frederick Sydney (1891).

Charles immigrated to Canada in 1907, found on the passenger list of the Mongolian that arrived in Montreal on 31 May. His occupation was given as joiner (carpenter) and he was on his way to Winnipeg. His parents and sister Margaret immigrated in 1913, arriving in Halifax aboard the Hesperian on 3 April. According to later census records, his brother Frederick and wife Charlotte also immigrated that year and at some point his brother William moved to Canada as well. All the Renners settled in Eriksdale, Manitoba where they farmed, Charles working as a carpenter.  For the 1916 census Charles was living with his parents in Eriksdale, with his brother William listed as serving overseas at the time.

Coming from Eriksdale, Charles enlisted in Winnipeg, Manitoba on 15 February 1918. His occupation was given as carpenter and his father William in Eriksdale as next of kin. According to his attestation papers, he had never previously served in any military or naval force although he indicated that he had been rejected from service due to “a rupture”. Charles served briefly as a Private with the 10th Battalion Canadian Regiment, Special Service Company. He was discharged from service as medically unfit on 12 August 1918 in Winnipeg. It was noted in his service record that he had flat feet, an aortic systolic thrill, he was deaf in one ear that had a discharge following a fall in 1895, and that he had had a descended right inguinal hernia that had previously been operated on. No other evidence of service was found.

Charles’ brother William enlisted in Winnipeg with the 100th Battalion in January of 1916, serving overseas with the 107th Battalion and the 1st Canadian Divisional Supply Column, CASC. He was discharged from service on 16 July 1919 in Winnipeg.

Charles returned to Eriksdale, found living with his parents, brother William and his aunt Annie Thompson for the 1921 census. On 21 November 1921, in Winnipeg, he married Mary Elizabeth Marks. In 1923 the family moved to Kenora, Ontario where Charles worked for the local pulp and paper mill, retiring in 1952 as an engine beater. Charles and Mary gave birth to two sons, William and Charles.

Charles died on 29 April 1962 in the Kenora General Hospital following a short illness. At the time of his death he was survived by his wife Mary, sons William of Kenora and Charles of Port Arthur, his sister Margaret (Andrew) Olson of Keewatin, brother Sydney (Charlotte) of Campbell River, BC, and eight grandchildren. He was predeceased by his father William (1927 in England), brother William (1928), and mother Fanny (1937 in Kenora). Charles’ wife Mary died in 1977, Sydney in 1977 in Hope, BC, and Margaret in 1981 in Kenora. Charles and Mary are interred in the Lake of the Woods Cemetery in Kenora.

By Judy Stockham

Renner-Charles-Mark-2 Renner-Charles-Mark-3


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