Material Type

Artifact

Date Range From

1930

Date Range To

1940

Materials

STEEL, WOOD, LEATHER

No. Pieces

1

Height

12

Length

46.3

Width

3.4

Description

BOLT ACTION PISTOL WITH REMOLDED WOOD STOCK. WOOD STOCK HAS MEDIUM FINISH AND APPEARS TO BE A RIFLE STOCK CUT DOWN TO A PISTOL STYLE GRIP. STAMPED INTO LEFT SIDE OF BARREL IS "5, 3 MM" AND GERMAN PROOF MARK OF CROWN OVER "G". SERIAL NUMBER "23" IS STAMPED ON EJECTOR INSIDE ACTION. BACK END OF PISTOL GRIP HAS LARGE OVAL WOOD PLUG.

Subjects

ARMAMENT-FIREARM

Historical Association

MILITARY

History

PISTOL WAS OWNED BY DONOR'S BROTHER, LIEUTENANT COLONEL MARK TENNANT. LT. COLMARK TENNANT WAS BORN IN WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, ON 27 JUNE 1913 TO ELIZA AND EDWARD VINCENT TENNANT. MARK ATTENDED SCHOOL AT ST. ROSE DU LAC, MANITOBA, COMPLETING HIS STUDIES AT LETHBRIDGE. HIS MILITARY CAREER STARTED AT AGE 13 WHEN HE JOINED THE ROYAL CANADIAN ARMY CADETS IN LETHBRIDGE. IN THE MID TO LATE 1920'S, LT. COL. TENNANT ENLISTED IN THE SOUTH ALBERTA REGIMENT. AT THE ONSET OF WORLD WAR TWO, HE RE-ENLISTED WITH THE 20TH BATTERY, ROYAL CANADIAN ARTILLERY OF LETHBRIDGE, AS A PRIVATE ON 27 AUGUST 1939. ON THE 6TH OF SEMPTEMBER 1939 HE TRANSFERRED TO THE 1ST BATTALION OF THE CALGARY HIGHLANDERS. HE JOINED THE BATTALION IN ENGLAND IN DECEMBER OF 1940. HE WAS PROMOTED TO THE RANK OF CAPTAIN IN JUNE 1942 AND MAJOR IN AUGUST 1944. MARK TENNANT WAS WOUNDED THREE TIMES WHILE OVERSEAS. AFTER THE WAR HE CONTINUED WITH THE HIGHLANDERS AS A TRAINING OFFICER UNTIL 1948 WHEN HE WAS PROMOTED TO SECOND IN COMMAND OF THE REGIMENT. IN 1955 HE WAS PROMOTED TO LIEUTENANT COLONEL AND APPOINTED C.O. OF THE REGIMENT. HE RETIRED FROM THE MILITARY IN 1962. LT. COL. TENNANT WAS A HIGHLY DECORATED AND WELL RESPECTED OFFICER. FOLLOWING HIS MILITARY CAREER MARK TENNANT SERVED THE CITY OF CALGARY AS AN ALDERMAN AND ON MANY CHARITY ORGANIZATIONS AND MUNICIPAL BOARDS. IN 1977 HE WAS APPOINTED AN HONORARY LT. COL. OF THE CALGARY HIGHLANDERS AND RECEIVED AS A COMPANION OF THE ORDER OF CANADA IN 1981. IN MAY OF 1995 THE CITY OF DOETINCHEM, HOLLAND, NAMED A PARK "MARK TENNANT PLANTSOEN - A CANADIAN LIBERATOR" IN HIS HONOR. MARK TENNANT PASSED AWAY IN 1996. FOR MORE HISTORY SEE ATTACHMENT ON CATALOGUE RECORD. THE DONOR, WILLIAM TENNANT (LT. COL. TENNANT'S BROTHER), RELATES THAT THE RE-MOLDED PISTOL WAS RECEIVED BY LT. COL. TENNANT FROM AN UNKNOWN MEMBER OF THE FRENCH RESISTANCE DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

Catalogue Number

P19980064002

Acquisition Date

1998-06

Collection

Museum

Less detail