Mitchell, Charles Joseph

Charles Joseph Mitchell spent most of his young life training for vocations he had little opportunity to follow. In civilian days he had attended Dufferin School, obtained his matriculation from the Collegiate Institute and Vocational School and subsequently graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College at Guelph. That same summer, on August 7, 1942, he enlisted in the R.C.A.F. and began his career as a pilot. After training at Toronto, St. Catharines and Hagersville, he received his "wings" and commission on June 25, 1943. Almost immediately he was moved overseas where for another year his training continued. When that was completed, for a first bombing flight over enemy territory, he was attached as a co-pilot to an R.A.F. plane. Misfortune attended the trip. There was a crash over Stuttgart, Germany, and F/O Mitchell lost his life on July 29, 1944. His career which held so much promise was thus suddenly ended. Born in Brantford on May 15, 1917, he was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Mitchell. During his high school days he took an active part in many of its extra-classroom activities. He was a major in the Cadet Corps and one of the crack shots on its rifle team. He was a member of the Brant Avenue United Church. Like most boys, he was extremely fond of animals, but as he matured, his interest in them deepened and he decided to become a veterinarian. After his graduation he had but a few weeks in which to follow his profession. However, in previous years, during holidays, he had always worked with his sister, Miss Doris Mitchell, who had a commercial kennel for dogs. Five days after his graduation as a pilot on June 30, 1943, he was married to Miss Peggy Joanne Davis.

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