London resident and WW2 veteran celebrates millennium birthday: 100 years!

Family and staff at the Parkwood Institute surprised WW2 veteran Charles (Charlie) Jackson with a birthday drive-by to mark his 100th birthday in London, Ont. Saturday.

Charlie and his with Jean sat outside Parkwood Institute, waving and shaking maracas at a parade of family, friends, and community members driving by and giving well wishes.

Speaking to reporters after the event, Charlie joked that he did not think he had that many friends.

“I am so grateful because they all came together at the same time,” he said.

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Son Brian Jackson, who helped organize the birthday surprise, said he was ‘beaming’ with how well it turned out.

“We have been thinking about this for a while, and there have been times we did not think he would make it.”

“Someone up there is looking down on us saying you deserve a sunny day, and we got one,” Brian said.

He said the day would not have been possible without the help of staff at Parkwood.

Charlie was born and raised in London, Ont. on October 16, 1920.

His family describes him as not the best student but someone who liked to play with radio sets. This lead him to enrol in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940 during WW2.

He was one of a number of Canadians chosen for radar training during the second war, which had only been invented five years prior.

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Charlie made the trip across the Atlantic Ocean in 1941 and was a part of a convoy of 25 supply ships that were attacked by Nazi U boats causing many boats to catch fire and sink. His family said his boat was able to escape and sail safely to Iceland before arriving in England.

He would then teach about the applications of radar in aircrafts and ships for the remainder of the war.

After the war, Brian said his father played an “instrumental role” in setting up the community college system in Ontario, eventually becoming Vice President of St. Clair College.

Charlie married wife Jean Jackson in May 1949, and the two have been married for 71 years, with four children, 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

“it’s been a great trip, and we had a lot of fun together, and we played a lot of golf and did a lot of swing dancing,” Jean said.

Looking back on the last 71 years of marriage, Jean said they have been through war, the great depression and said their family has been wonderful.

As for how he plans to send the rest of his Birthday, Charlie will be enjoying some cake with his wife and fellow veterans.