DFC, BA, MA, PhD, FRGS, FR.Hist.S., Professor Emeritus
5 January 1923 – 26 March 2012
William Rodney, airman, scholar and gentleman, died at home on 26 March 2012. Born in Drumheller, Alberta, he joined the RCAF at the age of 17, trained at the Commonwealth Air Training Base Patricia Bay, and earned his pilot’s wings. He flew Halifaxes in operations over Germany and Occupied Europe as a Flight Lieutenant with RAF Squadron 78, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar for “gallantry during active operations against the enemy”. After World War II, he attended the University of Alberta, meeting his wife Helen (McGregor) of Edmonton, and graduating with First Class Honours in History. During the summers, he worked as a Ranger in Waterton Lakes National Park, where he came to know the story of “Kootenai” Brown, whose definitive biography he was later to write and for which he received the American Association for State and Local History Award of Merit and Distinction. Bill and Helen married in 1950, when he took up a Beaver Club Trust Fellowship at St John’s College, Cambridge, where he completed a BA and MA in history and played ice-hockey for Cambridge University. After several years working in Ottawa for the federal government, he returned to Great Britain with his family and completed a PhD in History at the London School of Economics, under the supervision of Leonard Shapiro. He published Soldiers of the International, a History of the Communist Party of Canada 1919 – 1929, based on his doctoral research. In 1962 he moved to Victoria to take up a teaching position at Royal Roads Military College, where he stayed for the remainder of his career, ultimately becoming Dean of Arts. His former students remember “the Rod” with affection and admiration. During his years at Royal Roads, he took an active part in College and academic life, regularly publishing scholarly articles. Among many research grants and awards, he received a NATO fellowship to travel to French West Africa and report on conditions there. He was a Fellow, Royal Historical Society; Fellow, Royal Geographical Society; Life Member, Cdn Hist. Assn.; Mem., Cdn. Institute of Intl. Affairs; Johnian Society and Dir., Cambridge Canadian Trust. A firm belief in the need to return to primary sources drove him to travel frequently for research. In preparing Joe Boyle, King of the Klondike, for which he was awarded the University of British Columbia Medal for Popular Biography, he spent considerable periods in Roumania and in Turkey, in order to consult original documents, including the personal diaries of Queen Marie of Roumania. After the early death of his beloved wife Helen, and his own retirement, he travelled widely – to Japan, China, Burma, Australia, Turkey, Abu Dhabi, many European countries and Great Britain – and was active in the community at home in Victoria. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Gonzales Hill Preservation Society and Gonzales Hill Regional Park. He was also an active member of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Chapter (now CIC) and of the Vancouver Island Aircrew Association. He leaves his grieving children, Helen Catherine (Michel Drouin) and John William McGregor (Glen Dixon), and his granddaughter Emma, the apple of his eye. He is remembered with great affection by his sister-in-law Evelyn Rodney of Vancouver, his sister- and brother-in-law Gwen and George Molnar of Edmonton, many nieces and nephews, and friends across the world. He was a fine pilot, a rigorous scholar, a good friend, father and grandfather, an erudite, honest and honorable man. He did his duty.
The funeral will take place on Thursday 5 April at 11:00 a.m., at the Interfaith Chapel, University of Victoria, followed by a reception. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society. Condolences may be sent to the family below.
34 Responses
Several decades ago, as a young RMC scholar who also specialized on communism, I met Bill Rodney and found a wonderful colleague. We shared a commitment to original archival research, the political history of a radical leftist political party, a special trans-continental solidarity as military college professors, and a passion for the well-being of generations of officer-cadets. I will greatly miss Bill’s dignity, grace, enthusiasm and profound decency. He was a scholar-gentleman and it was my honour to call him a friend.
How sad to lose Bill.
We’ve been so fortunate to have Helen and Emma as friends and neighbours, then also to get to know Bill in Berlin and Victoria. Our very sincere condolences .
I was saddened to read of your father’s passing. I remember him as a history professor at Royal Roads which I attended from 1962 to 1964. He was always supportive and provided a calm and steadying influence in our somewhat hectic lives. One of his statements I will always remember was that we should consider the (history) text as a “point of departure.” He was indeed a true gentleman.
Karen and I were neighbours of “The Professor” as we and our children came to know him. On my family’s behalf I extend our heartfelt condolences to family and friends. To us Professor Rodney was an inspiration, right from the time we moved into the neighbourhood 27 years ago. His way of going about the world was meticulous and compassionate, erudite and warm. He was a natural leader, a beacon of rectitude and civic-mindedness. My enduring memories are of a distinguished gentleman marching purposefully and uncomplainingly up the hill, always careful to enquire after the well-being of our (then)-young children, of the joy that residents felt at the formal announcement by then-MLA John Brewin that the Gonzales Hill Observatory and Park would be saved from development (the boundary-stakes with the orange Day-glo flags had already been put in), his modest mien, the twinkle in his eye, and his evident love for The Other. A great and mindful and neighbourly man, fully-alive, who quietly and courageously served his fellow-man with humility. May his memory be as for a blessing and a consolation, and his generous spirited-ness and willingness to serve an enduring inspiration.
Helen and John:
It is with great sadness that I learned of your father’s passing. I was one of his students at Royal Roads who knew him as “The Rod”. He would sweep into the classroom, more often than not in his Cambridge gown and immediately launch into where he had left off from his last lecture, notably on the Renaissance. He left an indelible mark on all of his, and was a truly learned man. I am so sorry that I was unable to connect with him last May when he came down to Ottawa, particularly as both he and my father David were Halifax pilots. He has left us with great memories. Per Ardua Ad Astra Bill. Godspeed!
Dear Helen,Emma and John
We will our friend Bill for his good humour and sensitivity and offer our sincere sympathy to you . Merrill and Murray Cook
I was sorry to hear of your father’s death. I knew him only from the stories told by my father, Harold Grimble. Harold was the bomber in Bill’s plane when they limped back to Britain. He thought very highly of your Dad and said that it was really his excellent flying skill that pulled them through.
May your many happy memories give you comfort.
Gail
HelenKate and Greg; we are so sad to hear of Uncle Bill’s passing away.
Though I hadn’t seen him for more than a decade, he is very fondly
remembered by me and all the Rooneys
Our condolences to you and your families
Sincerely, Katie
Dear Helen, Emma and John:
Please accept our condolences on the passing of a great man and father. We look forward to seeing you on your return to Ottawa
…mike and Jo
John, Helen and Emma: I was so sad to hear of you dad and grandfathers passing. It was an honor to have met and known him for the short time I had been visiting him for We Care. He was such a gentleman. We enjoyed a little chat before I did my chores. He always apologized for all his books. He will be missed especially by all his friends and especially you Emma. I will miss him too. Please accept my deepest sympathy to you and your families.
Shirley (We Care)