Mark Dark

* **Died**: 27th August 1960 (age 90)

**Lord Mark Victor Dark**, better known as **Mark Dark**, was the brother of Lord Theodore Dark, and uncle of Lord Otthaniel Dark.

## Bio

Childhood and Teenage Years

Mark Victor Dark was born on 15th August 1870 in Axley, Kent. His brother, Theodore, was 16 years old at his birth, quite an age gap between the siblings. However, they were close, and Theodore would often look after his little brother when their parents were out and about.

When Mark was 9 years old, his brother Theodore married Patricia Streggalarde, where, at this young age, he was best man at the wedding. Mark buried himself in books, and became very intellectual, but also exercised alot, thus, he became supremely intelligent and powerfully built. Because of these qualities, he was employed by Soma Enterprises at the age of 20, to work in the newly opened quarry in the hills around Axley. Unfortunately, trecking up the hill everyday was a hard task, even for Mark. He complained about this to his older brother, which has been considered to be another contributing factor for the Dark Railway's initial construction!

### Creation of the Dark Railway

When the Dark Railway was built, Mark assisted his brother with initial route surveying and civil engineering, with both brothers agreeing that an embankment and bridge over Lake Walschurch would not be sufficent, therefore further finance was sourced to build a grand viaduct to carry the line over the lake. Usually, Mark would be seen assisting workmen around the construction areas, being no stranger to hard work due to his day job at the Quarry.

### World War I and between the Wars

During World War I, Mark was just another worker at the Quarry, working hard to supply the endless amounts of materials needed by the government in order to carry out the war effort. During this time, he was involved in a small incident, when one of the quarry's stationed locomotives (Hawthorn Leslie 0-4-0ST No 1, later known as "Theo") derailed with a ballast wagon. The wagon fell on it's side, with Mark being almost buried in ballast from the deluge of stone!

In 1922, his brother's wife gave birth to his only nephew, Otthaniel Theodore Dark. Mark was very happy indeed, and would, in later years, take his nephew out and about, often being forced to go "trainspotting" at Galen Junction with the young Otthaniel! He was saddened to hear of the death of his sister-in-law, Patricia, in 1930, with whom he had been good friends.

In 1932, he was offered a new job as an accountant in Bournemouth, Dorset, and bade farewell to his family in Axley, but he always visited them whenever he could. In 1938, Theodore Dark sadly passed away, leaving Mark very unhappy indeed, for this left his nephew, Otthaniel, as his only other family member. After the funeral, he remained with Otthaniel for a few days before departing back to Bournemouth, but would soon return to his parental home a few months later, as World War II loomed, and as Otthaniel needed a Legal Guardian, which would have to be him.

### World War II

So, during World War II, Mark Dark became Otthaniel's guardian, moving back to his old home in the Mansion at Axley, and giving support and guidance to his hopelessly emotional nephew

With support from Mark, Otthaniel prepared the railway for the oncoming use by the government, whilst Mark falsely pledged himself acting manager of the railway during the war, to alleviate political pressure on his nephew, who was working none-stop to keep things moving in the office and elsewhere.

In 1942, Mark managed to convince Otthaniel to vacate the area temporarily, fearing for his nephew's health and safety, especially as enemy bombers loomed overhead, and the threat of bombing raids became even more evident in Kent. Otthaniel begrudgingly agreed, leaving to live with his friend, Baron Rhys Davies, in Pontypool, Wales, which was considerably safer than Kent.

Mark Dark stepped up to the mark perfectly, and, with assistance from the board of directors at the time, mamaged to keep the railway from falling under during this hard time. Thankfully, bombing raids did not affect the areas, and, by the end of the war, Mark was satisfied that Otthaniel could come home and reclaim the railway and company once again, now that he was at a legal age to take over the operations officially.

On one occaision after the war, Otthaniel allowed Mark to take the controls of No 2 "Otto" during shunting moves at Soma. Unfortunately, this ended badly, with Mark accidently priming the engine and causing damage to it's left hand cylinder in the process. Amusingly, after this, Otthaniel never allowed Mark to drive any of his engines again!

### After the War and Death

In 1947, Mark returned to his home in Bournemouth, where he enjoyed his vast wealth alone, for he had never married and had no interest in relationships. He regularly contacted his nephew to find out how things were going on the railway, and Otthaniel regularly visited his aging uncle, who, by 1955, was becoming gravely ill due to his age. Sadly, Lord Mark Dark passed away peacefully in his sleep in 1960, with Otthaniel attending his funeral, evidently deeply upset at the loss of his last family member.

## Appearances

### The Dark Railway Series

Episodes:

* Series 5 - Ed and Sid (*mentioned*)
* Series 12 - Outrage (*mentioned*)

## Trivia

* Mark Dark has only ever been mentioned in the series and has never actually appeared, due to passing away at the very beginning of the series.