Lieutenant-Colonel G. Douglas Renny
1st Battalion King’s Own Scottish Borderers
5th/7th Battalion, Gordon Highlanders

During this period, Capt. Renny worked day and night, with energy, and efficiency, completing with a difficult task having to deal with inexperienced and poorly trained Units. Toward the end of the period when fatigue was overcoming him, he struggled on, remaining cheerful and confident and showing a fine devotion to duty in spite of the difficulty of getting complicated orders for a withdrawal issued in very short time

(M.C. citation, 1940)

Born on 30 December 1908 in Punjab, India, George Douglas Renny was the son of a Royal Artillery colonel and the grandson of George Renny who earned the Victoria Cross during the Indian Mutiny. Following his family’s military tradition, the youngest Renny attended Sandhurst and took a commission with the King’s Own Scottish Borderers. In June 1940, he was assigned to be brigade major of the improvised “A” Brigade under Brigadier M.A. Green. After the retreat and evacuation, Green recommended him for the Military Cross, writing: “Capt. Renny himself had little experience and had not been under fire before. In view of all this I consider his work to have been of a high standard and his devotion to duty worthy of recognition.”

Following general staff appointment with the Director of Military Training at the War Office in London, he joined the 1st Battalion, Scottish Borders in March 1943. A year later, he was commanding officer and led the unit when it went ashore at Normandy on D-Day and at Caen later in June 1944. Renny was wounded on 19 July and succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel J.F.M. Macdonald a week later.

After recovery, Renny returned to duty with the 5th/7th Gordon Highlanders, succeeding Hew Blair-Imrie who had been killed in action on 19 August 1944. As the campaign wore on, Major Martin Lindsay of 1st Gordons remarked in his diary:

There is already a noticeable difference in style between the battalion commanders. Bill Bradford has already made his name and I have little desire to make mine, so there is no great activity on the front of the Black Watch or 1st Gordons. On the other hand, Douglas Renny, commanding S-7th Gordons, is full of energy and daily conducting operations to make life hell for the Overmans opposite.

This initiative evidently paid off. In January 1945, Renny left the battalion to take over 9th Infantry Brigade. The promotion had been prompted by Field Marshal Montgomery but opposed by Major-General Lashmer Whistler of 3rd Division. “Got myself into quite serious trouble the other day by refusing a Brig,” Whistler wrote in his diary. “The Great Little Man’s own selection but I knew him and did not approve. Lost heavily for the moment & was told to accept him or go.” After a few months in action, Whistler admitted, “I would say that 9 Bde has done best under Renny who I did not like.”

In April 1945, Renny took over 146th Brigade, 52nd Division and after the war served various postings in Germany and at home. He was made Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and retied in 1959.

Renny died in Surrey, England in 1971.