Family Memories: Dad's Early Years

This is a Blog about my family, the Rennie family. It is particularly the love story of my parents, Richard and Dorothy Rennie, and the adventurous life they led.

The stories come from my memories, from talking to Dad and showing him pictures, from Mom; and from other members of the family

“The Ancestor”
Dad’s mother was very proud that Dad had been descended from a famous ancestor. John Rennie 1761 to 1821. He was an engineer who designed many projects including New London Bridge, completed by his son, also a John Rennie in 1831. This Bridge was later disassembled and taken across the Atlantic to Lake Havasu City, Arizona and reassembled there in 1971. It is now part of a theme park and a tourist attraction. There is a story, denied by the purchaser, Robert McCulloch, that he was disappointed as he was expecting Tower Bridge.

John Rennie


John Rennie was born at Phantassie Farm in Lothian, Scotland and educated in Edinburgh. He was apprenticed to Andrew Meikle, who invented the threshing machine. He was buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral.

John Rennie in St. Paul's Cathedral

Grandma Wraysbury had a couple of the columns from Waterloo Bridge, one of 5 Bridges he designed in her garden at Aramis.


London Bridge at Lake Haversu City

Dad was the oldest child of Doris Evelyn (Dorrie) Rennie. His father was another John Rennie.

Dad’s father, John Rennie, (They were all John George or Richard Temple) was a businessman. He was born in Shanghai China. His father had been a Richard Temple Rennie, who had been Chief Justice H.B.M Supreme Court for China and Japan. Dad's father worked for a company named Messers Wm. Kaufman and Co. He went to Harbin Manchuria China and became ill and died when Dad was about two years old. His father’s employer felt a responsibility to Dad, and paid for his education at Cheltenham College.

Part of the tea set designed by Sr Richard Rennie in China. Grandma Wraysbury kept it for years. John has it now.

Doris mother “Nana” (Field) lived to be 93 years old. I remember when I was a child I used to walk down the lane and visit her. She lived along the road from Grandma’s house in a little suite on the top floor of an older house. There is a family legend I had heard, and I am not sure if it was about her, that she had left an abusive relationship with her daughters and raised them. Dad says Nana’s husband died young and he does not remember him. She raised her daughters alone. I remember her as a frail looking white haired lady in a flowered dress. Her little suite was full of furniture and I remember knick knacks and a display case of china things, including plates and mugs commemorating royalty.

Nana

Nana had two daughters, Doris and Iris. Iris married a man named Murphy and had four sons, there was a “Buster” (John), Brian and a Patrick. Dad remembers Buster and Brian, but the other two were younger and he doesn’t remember them well. Dad grew up with these cousins. There are many pictures of them. I only remember meeting them once. Buster emigrated to America, where he married a woman named Bunnie. He came back for a visit and Doris (We called her Grandma Wraysbury because she lived near a village called Wraysbury when we were children) held a family reunion. We can’t have been a close family because that is the only time I remember meeting any of these relatives.



The Reunion

Dad was the “man of the house” from a very early age as his father had died when he was 2. His mother was a very dependent type of person, who felt women should be frail and helpless. Dad used to tease her about always finding “a nice young man” to help her. Even when standing right under the exit sign for example at a train station, she would stop someone and ask for directions, and then he would end up carrying her suitcase out for her.
Grandma Wraysbury tried to encourage Susan and I to be “ladies”. She manicured our finger nails and tried to encourage us to wear lacy gloves. She had better success with Susan than with me. I was always a tomboy and the lacy gloves snagged on tree branches while I was climbing. When we were hot and used to say we were sweaty she would say “horses sweat, gentlemen perspire, and ladies just get warm”.
Susan tells of Grandma's dating instructions. Apparently when out in a car with someone one does not know very well, a lady should ask for a cigarette. Then if the gentleman proves not to be a gentleman and makes unwanted advances, one can discourage him by mashing the cigarette into him!
Grandma Wraysbury was very particular that Dad’s name was Richard, not to be shortened to Dick. If anyone called for him and asked for Dick, they would be told that there was no one by that name residing there.





Grandma Wraysbury

From an early age, Dad took an interest in how things worked. He could often be found with the chauffer, examining the engine and helping to fix the car.
Dad’s mother remarried, and another son, Edward was born when Dad was about 11. The man, William Biddle, who she married, was apparently a nice man but an irresponsible alcoholic. Dad used to say how upset his mother was and used to pour the bottles of alcohol down the sink. Dad had to take a parental, caretaking role.
The family moved to a house halfway between Margate and Westgate, seaside towns on the Kentish coast of England. After William Biddle died of alcoholism, Dorrie and the boys moved to Blackheath, where they lived near the “Common”; a large open area where everyone could go. Dad remembers the house there as a lovely house.
Edward Biddle as a child and later as an adult was somewhat irresponsible. I remember him working as a car salesman, and having an antique business. He married several times. I remember an “Auntie Ann”, and a picture of him in a newspaper marrying a woman who was a hostess in a game show. With one of his wives he had a son named Mark. He later married someone else fairly late in life and moved to Georgia in the US. They had a baby girl. Mom and Dad visited them there several times. Uncle Edward passed away several years ago.

Edward with his wife and child in Georgia

Uncle Edward, Grandma Wraysbury and Dad

I think Dad has happy memories of his school days at Cheltenham. He spoke about learning he was near sighted by getting hit with a cricket ball because he couldn’t see it. He was musical, and learned to play piano and violin. He talks more about the violin. He was made to sing in the choir, but did not like it. He talks about playing the organ for church services.
He talks about the cadet program and army drill, which he did not like.
Cheltenham College appears to have offered a classical education. Dad was a day student there. He speaks of riding his bike to school.





Cheltenham College http://www.cheltenhamcollege.org/

Dad talks about his school closing at the beginning of World War II, and he briefly attended a more technical school, where he learned more of the math’s and sciences. I remember him saying that this was useful to him when he entered medical school. This would have been in the mid to late 1930’s. Dad talks about his interview to enter medical school, and what gained his admission by the somewhat snobbish dean was having come from a “good school”, Cheltenham College being very highly regarded, and the science oriented school somewhat disparaged; but he says the education he gained there especially in the math’s and sciences was much more helpful to him.
A recurrent theme in Dad’s life is his disdain of snobbery.
Dad entered medical school at St. Mary’s hospital in London. It was there that he met Mom. She was Dorothy (Dolly) Graham, and had come there as a nursing student. She was 17 when they met.