Richard Rohmer

Richard Heath Rohmer (born January 24, 1924) is a Canadian aviator, lawyer, adviser, author and historian. During the Second World War, he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a fighter-reconnaissance pilot, took part in D-Day and the Battle of Normandy, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He later served as Chief of Reserves of the Canadian Armed Forces from 1978 to 1981 and was granted the honorary rank of lieutenant-general in 2015.

Rohmer was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and spent some of his early youth in Pasadena, California, as well as in western Ontario at Windsor and Fort Erie. He is also known as the author of political and military thrillers, including Ultimatum and Separation; The Canadian Encyclopedia described Ultimatum as the best-selling novel in Canada in 1973. He took part in D-Day and the Battle of Normandy, served in France, Belgium and Holland, and completed a 135-mission tour of operations in November 1944.

In 1945, he was demobilized and transferred to the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve (RCN(R)), where he was appointed as a lieutenant (P) RCN(R) with seniority. He served at HMCS Hunter in Windsor, Ontario, as commanding officer University Naval Training Division (UNTD) from 1946 until he retired in 1948.

In 1950, he returned to the RCAF (Reserve), flying Vampire jets and commanding 400 Squadron (City of Toronto) and 411 Squadron (County of York). He retired in 1953 as a wing commander.

In 1971, he was appointed honorary Lieutenant-Colonel (and later Honorary Colonel) of 411 Air Reserve Squadron. In April 1975, he was promoted to brigadier-general and appointed Senior Air Reserve Advisor. On April 1, 1976, he was appointed commander of the newly formed Air Reserve Group. On January 31, 1978, he was promoted to the rank of major-general and appointed Chief of Reserves; he retired in 1981.

On June 26, 2015, in his capacity as honorary advisor to the Chief of the Defence Staff, Rohmer was granted the honorary rank of Lieutenant-General.

In 1958, he unsuccessfully challenged Hollis Beckett, the incumbent Progressive Conservative MPP in the riding of York East, for the Conservative nomination for the 1959 Ontario general election.

Rohmer is a monarchist.

Legal career Rohmer completed his legal studies at Osgoode Hall Law School, was called to the Ontario bar in 1951, and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1960. His legal practice was principally in transportation, land-use and municipal law. Two of his better-known novels are Ultimatum and Separation. Ultimatum, published in 1973, features political, economic, and energy crisis themes; it was the best-selling novel in Canada in 1973.

Three years later, Rohmer published Separation, a novel with domestic and international political themes surrounding the ambition of Quebec separatists to establish the Canadian province as a separate nation. It stayed on the Toronto Star's best-seller list for 22 weeks. Separation was made into a television movie in 1977, and aired on the CTV network. Barry Morse was cast for a brief appearance as the British prime minister.

Throughout his literary career he has published more than two dozen books of fiction and non-fiction.

Volunteer work He was twice chancellor of the University of Windsor, serving from 1978 to 1989 and again from 1996 to 1997. In 1978, he negotiated the donation of Conrad Black's collection of Duplessis papers in exchange for an honorary degree. and he served as treasurer of the international organization. His position allowed him to meet U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to present Civitan's World Citizenship Award.

Personal life His wife of 70 years, Mary Olivia (nicknamed Mary-O), died in January 2020. He has two daughters: Ann, a TV personality, and Catherine, a lawyer. He is a licensed pilot.

Rohmer turned 100 on January 24, 2024, and resides in the veterans' wing of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.