Rumble, Private Reginald Eugene “Reg”

Service Highlights

  • Born February 16, 1951 in St. Marys, Ontario.
  • Joined the Canadian Armed Forces Regular Component on November 28, 1969
  • Trained in the naval environment as a Weaponman Underwater, trade code 062.
  • Completed Canadian Forces Recruit Course 7002 at Cornwallis on March 19, 1970.
  • Completed Sea Environmental Training at Fleet School Halifax on April 21, 1970.
  • Completed Basic Indoctrination, Weaponman Underwater, at CFB Halifax from April 23 to May 15, 1970, followed by further weapons training.
  • Honourably released August 26, 1970.
  • Continued his commitment to service as a volunteer with Royal Canadian Legion Branch 236, later becoming Branch President.
  • Honoured through the St. Marys Legion Veterans Banner Program.

A Life and Service Remembered

Reginald Eugene Rumble, known as Reg, was born and raised in St. Marys, Ontario. His civilian occupation as a labourer before, at just eighteen years old, he volunteered for service with the Canadian Armed Forces in November 1969.

Reg began his military training at Canadian Forces Recruit School Cornwallis in Nova Scotia, completing his Recruit Course. From there, his training took him to Halifax and into the naval side of the Canadian Armed Forces. At Fleet School Halifax he completed the Sea Environmental Training Course, followed by specialist instruction with the Weapons Division at CFB Halifax. His trade was Weaponman Underwater. His surviving records document both basic weapons instruction and further weapons training during the spring and summer of 1970.


He finished his Weaponman Underwater training right in the middle of a major contraction of Canada’s navy. The Canadian Forces had just been unified in 1968, and in September 1969 the government announced substantial defense reductions. Maritime Command was particularly affected. HMCS Bonaventure, Canada’s only aircraft carrier, was paid off, three Restigouche-class destroyers were to be placed in reserve, and the navy was already substantially smaller than it had been earlier in the decade.

At the same time, the Canadian Forces as a whole were deliberately shrinking. Official government figures show strength falling from about 120,000 in 1964 to only about 82,000 by 1973.

Reg served continuously with the Regular Component until his honorable release.

His commitment to service did not end when he left the Canadian Armed Forces. In the years that followed, Reg became an active volunteer with the Royal Canadian Legion in St. Marys. He continues that service today as President of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 236, helping support veterans, remembrance, and the community in which he grew up.

For Reg, the Legion provides a direct connection between his own years in uniform and the responsibility of ensuring that the service of others is not forgotten. His own service is now commemorated through the St. Marys Legion Veterans Banner Program that he has helped support for others.

Major Battles and Operations

Reg’s service occurred during peacetime,

  • Canadian Forces Recruit School Cornwallis, Recruit Course 7002
  • Fleet School Halifax, Sea Environmental Training
  • Weapons Division, CFB Halifax, Weaponman Underwater training
  • Service with the Canadian Armed Forces Regular Component

Learn More

For Reg’s page, the principal sources are original family-held military records,