Mark Charness was born May 18, 1923 in Montreal. He was raised in a loving, hard-working family, where he learned to give generously of himself. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force on the first day he was eligible. With a keen gift for math, Mark trained as a navigator, earning the rank of Flying Officer. He was stationed in Little Staughton, England, and served with the 582 Squadron of the prestigious Royal Air Force Pathfinders Group, where casualty rates were extraordinarily high. He flew in a Lancaster, where he joined up with an Australian crew. Once the war was over, he returned to Canada and started up his own business. Mark used his wartime severance pay to start that business, and he grew Budmark Converters into a major Canadian success story, becoming a pre-eminent supplier of textiles to Canada’s burgeoning clothing manufacturing trade. Mark was first interviewed for this project by his granddaughter Katherine, when she was in Mr. Scott’s CHC2D class. In 2012 he was interviewed again by Katherine, this time with Michael Lawee and Zach Brown. He visited us one last time in 2016, speaking to Mr. Masters’ Grade 11 history class.
Videos
- 1. Mark Charness - Introduction.mp4
- 2. Family Background and Religion; Anti-Semitism.mp4
- 3. First Job Experience.mp4
- 4. High School.mp4
- 5. Entertainment.mp4
- 6. Money and the War during the Teen Years.mp4
- 7. Enlisting and Training.mp4
- 8. In England.mp4
- 9. Meeting the Locals.mp4
- 10. Advanced Training and the Pathfinders.mp4
- 11. Passes, Allies and the Victoria Cross.mp4
- 12. Strategic Bombing.mp4
- 13. Following the News; Churchill; Letters.mp4
- 14. Wartime Experience.mp4
- 15. Bombing Missions.mp4
- 16. D-Day.mp4
- 17. A Day in the Life.mp4
- 18. V-1s and V-2s.mp4
- 19. Pubs and the End of the War.mp4
- 20. After the War; Learning about the Shoah.mp4
- 21. Sharing his Story; Remembrance Day.mp4
- 22. Japan- Business and Postwar.mp4
- 23. Photo Outro by Richard Chen.mp4