Ronald Alfred Searle (July 19, 1919 – August 29, 2015) was an English-born Canadian

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

, publisher, and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

who served as the fourth mayor of Mississauga, Ontario from 1976 to 1978.

Early life

Searle was born in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, England to Ruby and Theodore Searle on July 19, 1919. His mother was a seamstress and his father was a purser with the

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping company. Founded out of the remains of a defunct packet company, it gradually rose up to become one of the most prominent shipping lines in the world, providing passenger and cargo services between t ...

and a seaman with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The family relocate to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

where the family had relatives.

Military career

After joining the Toronto Scottish militia in the mid-1930s, Searle later signed up with the

Toronto Scottish Regiment The Toronto Scottish Regiment (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's Own) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. It is part of 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. Lineage File:Tor Scots Colour.jpg, The regiment ...

immediately upon Canada declaring war against

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in September 1939. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Searle landed twice in France, once at

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

and once at

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. He was later wounded at

Falaise Falaise may refer to: Places * Falaise, Ardennes, France * Falaise, Calvados, France ** The Falaise pocket was the site of a battle in the Second World War * La Falaise, in the Yvelines ''département'', France * The Falaise escarpment in Quebe ...

in Ardennes when he took three machine gun bullets to his leg.

Post-war life and family

After the war he began a career in magazine publishing. On December 10, 1949 he married his wife, Mollie, and together they raised one son, Mark William Searle. The Searles were married for 50 years until Mollie Searle's death in 1999.

Political career

Searle first entered politics when he was elected president of the Orchard Heights Homeowners Association in 1959. In 1962, he was elected to Mississauga town council and served for fourteen years. While on council Searle fiercely debated with sitting mayor Martin Dobkin in both municipal and regional council meetings on many issues, including increased municipal funding for

child care Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

and legal aid. Dobkin, who referred to Searle as "the official leader of the opposition", noted that despite the political opposition the two enjoyed a friendly personal relationship. Searle was elected mayor in 1976 amid a corruption scandal in the municipal government and a massive real estate boom throughout the city. With increased home prices driving lower-income citizens out of Mississauga, Searle made affordable housing a central issue of his administration and told a reporter for the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' shortly after his electoral victory that " isconcern for ffordable housingoverrides all other concerns." Throughout his term in office he lobbied for cheaper homes and opposed the federal government's cuts to housing grants. Searle ran for re-election at the end of his term in 1978, but lost to former Streetsville mayor

Hazel McCallion Hazel McCallion, (; born February 14, 1921) is a Canadian businesswoman and retired politician who served as the fifth mayor of Mississauga, Ontario, from 1978 until 2014. She is the first and current chancellor of Sheridan College. McCalli ...

with a final tally of 28,005 to 25,029 votes. He later made another unsuccessful bid for the mayoralty in 1982, but was defeated by McCallion again. While still a councillor, Searle also ran as a Progressive Conservative candidate for the riding of Peel in the 1965 federal election. He finished a distant second to

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate Bruce Beer.

Later life and death

Following his failed 1982 election bid, Searle remained active in the community. He would often represent homeowners' interests at city hall, and was a frequent participant in veterans' events and events at the Port Credit Yacht Club. In 2007 he was highly critical of Tim Peterson's installation as the

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (french: Parti progressiste-conservateur de l'Ontario), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada ...

candidate for Mississauga South after

crossing the floor In parliamentary systems, politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a different political party than which they were initially elected under (as is the case in Canada and the United Kingdom). ...

from the

Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; french: Parti libéral de l'Ontario, PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by interim leader John Fraser since August 2022. The party espouses the principles of li ...

, remarking that the process was "a violation of the democratic principles the rogressiveConservative Party has stood for over the years". In late August 2015, Searle was admitted to

Mississauga Hospital Mississauga Hospital is a regional and teaching hospital in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It provides general medical services to residents of central and southern Mississauga as well as regional stroke, cardiac, and neurological care. Founded ...

for

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

. He died in hospital on August 29, 2015 at the age of 96. The City of Mississauga set up an official book of condolences at the

Mississauga Civic Centre The Mississauga Civic Centre is the seat of local government of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The 37,280 square metre complex is a prominent example of postmodern architecture in Canada, finished in 1987 by Jones and Kirkland. It stands at 92 metr ...

and lowered the flags at all city-owned buildings in his honour from August 29 to September 11, 2015.

Honours

The following honours were conferred on Searle: * Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal *

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

References

External links

Profile at Heritage Mississauga
{{DEFAULTSORT:Searle, Ron 1919 births 2015 deaths British emigrants to Canada Mayors of Mississauga Recipients of the Legion of Honour Military personnel from Southampton Canadian Army soldiers Deaths from pneumonia in Ontario Canadian Army personnel of World War II