Ron Searle

Ron Searle (born July 19, 1919) is a Canadian former politician who served as the fourth mayor of Mississauga, Ontario.

Early life

He was born in Southampton, England on July 19, 1919 to Ruby and Theodore "Theo" Searle. He was later joined by a sister, Barbara. His mother Ruby was a seamstress and his father Theo was a Purser with the White Star Line and then a Seaman with the Royal Navy during World War I. His parents were married in Edinburgh, Scotland while Theo was on a short leave from patrols in the North Sea.

Move to North America

After the war, Ron's father Alfred returned to the White Star Lines and was transferred to New York, United States. He moved his family to New York but succumbed shortly after contracting dengue fever while on mercy missions in the tropics. Ron was just over three years of age at the time. Alfred's death bed wish was that the family re-locate to Toronto, Canada where the family had relatives.

In Canada

Searle attended Harbord Collegiate Institute, where he became friends with Ed Mirvish and Wayne and Shuster, among others. Ron admired many of his classmates and families who were new Canadians having moved to Canada from various European homelands where the Nazi tyranny had caused them to flee for their lives. Ron's son, Mark, recalls his father often saying that his relationships with these school friends further added to his resolve to do his part against the Nazis.^[1] He joined the Toronto Scottish militia in the mid-thirties, which would eventually lead to his signing up with the Toronto Scottish Regiment immediately upon Canada declaring war against Nazi Germany in September 1939. Ron landed twice in France, once at Brest and the last time in Normandy. He was wounded in Verrieres taking three machine gun bullets through his leg.

Politics

He ran for the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 1965, for the riding of Peel, finishing a distant second. He served as mayor of Mississauga from 1976–1978, and remains active in local Conservative politics, being highly critical of Tim Peterson's installation as the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario candidate in 2007 after crossing the floor, remarking that the process was "a violation of the democratic principles the Conservative Party has stood for over the years".^[2]

References