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A veteran of two wars, Colonel John William George Rhoades was born on 15 September 1874 in Nottingham, England. He came to Canada in 1893 and homesteaded near Fort Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan, before beginning a long and distinguished career with the Canadian military. On 24 August 1894 he enlisted with “B” Squadron of The Royal Canadian Dragoons in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he earned the nickname “Dickie” for whistling. From 1898 to 1899 he served with the Yukon Field Force (YFF), a special force of two hundred men sent to the Yukon to assist the Northwest Mounted Police during the gold rush. The YFF battled the muskeg and bugs of the Teslin Trail to reach Teslin Lake and then continued to Fort Selkirk by water. Although the YFF was based at the Fort, Rhoades was part of a detachment sent to help the Mounted Police manage Dawson City. In 1899 the force was recalled and Rhoades left the Yukon.

From the Yukon, Rhoades went to Toronto where he was posted with “A” Squadron of the Royal Canadian Dragoons at Stanley Barracks. In 1900 he was sent to South Africa to fight in the Boer War until its end in 1901. Rhoades then returned to Toronto where he remained until he was sent to the Royal Military College in Kingston in 1910. In 1912 he was appointed the Riding Master at the College with the honorary rank of Lieutenant.

At the outbreak of World War I Rhoades decided to go into action once again and was posted to the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles (CMR) as Adjutant with the rank of Captain. He was promoted to Major in 1916 and Lieutenant Colonel in 1918 when he was appointed to command the 5th CMR. Rhoades remained with the unit from 1914 to 1919 and saw action at the Somme, Vimy, Ypres, and Passchendale. He received a number of decorations and medals for his service, including the bar for the Distinguished Service Order and the Military Cross.

In 1919 Rhoades returned to Canada where he became acting Adjutant and Quarter Master General of the Toronto Military District. Upon retirement in 1929 he was granted the rank of Colonel and worked with the Soldiers’ Aid Commission in Toronto and the Corps of Commissionaires. Rhoades passed away on 2 September 1955 in Toronto leaving behind wife Ethel Alice (Winter), and daughters Tannis, Frances, and Peggy.

Writer, director, actor, and producer David Renton was born in Geelong, Australia in 1934. His career began in 1951 as an actor with St. Martins Theatre in Melbourne. He immigrated to Canada in 1954, eventually becoming a Canadian citizen in 1966. In Canada, Renton continued to work in the performing arts industry. In the 1950s, he worked for the CBC doing special effects lighting and lighting design for television shows such as Howdy Doody and Front Page Challenge. He also appeared on radio and television, began acting in stage productions across Canada in 1958, and joined John Hirsch’s acting company at the Manitoba Theatre Centre in 1960. Three years later, Renton moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia to become a member of the first company of Neptune Theatre, where he would perform in more than one hundred plays. Over the next four decades, he made a name for himself in Canada in both the performing arts and amateur athletics communities.

From 1965 to 1966, Renton traveled around the world to study theatre. He visited fifteen countries, thirty companies, and saw more than sixty productions. Renton’s career further diversified during the 1970s and 1980s. He directed a youth theatre group called "Project 30" in Halifax in 1973, served as the acting artistic director of Neptune from 1977 to 1978, was the drama advisor for the Nova Scotia Department of Education, founded Portus Theatre Productions where he served as artistic director from 1976 to 1983, served as Artistic Director of the Stephenville Festival in Newfoundland in 1981, coordinated the Provincial High School Drama Festival in Halifax in 1986, and acted at the Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario in 1980 and the Stratford Festival from 1984-1986. In the early 1990s, Renton was involved with Upstart Theatre serving as director, sitting on the board, and acting in productions.

Renton also performed in film and television, appearing in The Neptune Factor (1973), Bluenose Ghosts (1974), Emily of New Moon (1999), and Russian Roulette (2001). In addition, he served as the stand-in for Gordon Pinsent in The Shipping News (2001). As a resource person, Renton worked extensively within the Canadian theatre community and in schools on many facets of theatrical production. He was an active member of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) and the Canadian Actors' Equity Association (CAEA).

David Renton also received acknowledgement for his work within the performing arts community. In 1955, he received an award for bravery in filming Hurricane Hazel in 1954. In 2003, he was awarded the Robert Merritt Achievement Award for his contributions to theatre in Nova Scotia. More recently, in 2004, the Maritime Chapter of ACTRA presented him with the ACTRA Award of Excellence, which was then renamed the David Renton Award of Excellence, in recognition of his contributions to the organization.

Renton also made valuable contributions to Canadian amateur athletics. He was the chairman of the Team Liaison for Skate Canada, which was held in Halifax in 1983, and later the production coordinator of the 1987 Canada Winter Games held in Sydney, Nova Scotia. In 1990, he was chairman of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies Committee for the World Figure Skating Championships held in Halifax.

David Renton and wife Karine had two daughters, Rachel and Bea. He passed away on May 2, 2006.

John Erskine Read, OC, was a lawyer, civil servant and the only Canadian judge elected to the International Court of Justice. He was born in 1888 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Dr. H.H. Read and Jessie MacGregor. In 1909 he graduated from Dalhousie Law School and pursued post-graduate studies at Columbia University before receiving a Rhodes Scholarship. He received both his BA and a Bachelor of Civil Law degree from University College, Oxford. In 1913 he was called to the Nova Scotia bar and practised law with Harris, Henry, Rogers, and Harris. During World War I he served with the Canadian Field Artillery, where he achieved the rank of Major.

In 1920 Read joined the Faculty of Law at Dalhousie University and from 1924-1929 he served as Dean. He was appointed Legal Advisor to the Department of External Affairs in 1929 and rose to become a Deputy Undersecretary of State. In 1946 he was elected a member of the International Court of Justice, later being re-appointed for a second term and serving until 1958. Returning to Canada, he taught in the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa.

Read was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1967; one year later he was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Alberta. He was the first recipient of the Canadian Council on International Law John E. Read Medal. He died in 1973.

Horace Emerson Read, OC, QC, was an eminent legal educator and scholar and Dean of Dalhousie Law School from 1964-1972.

Born on 8 April 1898 in Port Elgin, New Brunswick, he moved with his family in 1911 to Amherst, Nova Scotia, where he graduated from Cumberland County Academy in 1915. In October 1915 he began his studies at Acadia University, but in 1916 enlisted for overseas service with the 219th Battalion of the Nova Scotia Highlanders. In 1917 he joined the Royal Air Force, training as a flying officer and serving as Captain until 1919, when he returned to Acadia to complete his BA in Economics and English.

In 1921 he was accepted into Harvard Business School, but after spending the summer reporting on the Supreme Court for the Amherst Daily News, he decided to switch to law. He graduated from Dalhousie Law School in 1924 and went to Harvard for one year on a Pugsley Scholarship in International Law. In September 1925 Read returned to Dalhousie to begin his career as a law lecturer, and from 1931-1934 he served as George Munro Professor of Law, with a one-year sabbatical spent at Harvard earning his Doctor of Juridical Science degree. In 1934 he accepted a teaching position at the University of Minnesota and was admitted to the Minnesota Bar. He remained at the University of Minnesota until 1950.

During the Second World War, Read served as a Major in the Minnesota wing of the United States Civil Air Patrol. At the request of his colleague and friend, Angus L. Macdonald (then Minister of National Defence for Naval Services), Horace joined the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve. With the rank of Commander, Read became Chairman of the Naval Regulations Revision Committee and served as principal architect in the revision of the Naval Regulations, as well drafting the Naval Service Act of Canada in 1944. Read also served as Chairman of the Canadian Naval Orders Committee from 1944-1945. As a result of this service he was awarded the Order of British Empire in 1946.

In 1950 Read returned to Dalhousie to take up the twin posts of Richard Chapman Weldon Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Law, and established the Nova Scotia Centre for Legislative Research. In 1964, after being appointed Sir James Dunn Professor and Dean Emeritus of Law, Read became Vice-President of Dalhousie, stepping down in 1969 to pursue full-time teaching until his retirement in 1972.

In addition to his service to the University, Read was Chair of the Nova Scotia Labour Board; ex officio member of Council of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society; Nova Scotia Vice-President of the Canadian Bar Association; President of the Conference of Governing Bodies of the Legal Profession in Canada; President of the Conference of Commissioners on Uniformity of Legislation in Canada; President of Canadian Law Teachers; and Vice-President of the International Law Association. He also served as a United Nations consultant on electoral law and an observer during the 1958 Costa Rica national election. Read received four honorary degrees (Acadia, Queen’s, Dalhousie and Windsor) and was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1973.

Horace Read died on 26 February 1975.