Bob Chartre grew up in prewar Quebec, one son in a very large family. He remembers well the difficulties of the Great Depression, and even recalls that his father was happy when he and two of his brothers were called up for the war as that meant fewer mouths to feed! When Bob went into the army, he entered the famous Chaudieres regiment, which had so distinguished itself in the Battle for Normandy. Bob completed his training in Canada and in Aldershot, England, and from there he reported as a replacement soldier to the regiment, and he was deployed in France and especially the Netherlands in the closing stages of the war.
We met Bob at the Sunnybrook Veterans’ Wing in July 2018, when he was interviewed by Mr. Masters and a delegation of Crestwood students taking a break from summer vacation.