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Over the last few years we have been frequently asked about the origins and name of the company,
White Mark Limited. The company was formed in March 1997 by David and John who had been friends
since student days with common interests in theatre production. The interest in sound continued
as David’s career took him to EMI, the BBC, Solid State Logic, Real World and finally Harris Grant
Associates while John’s career took him into the telecommunications and IT business with
Motorola where he was Director of Business Development EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa division),
Sourcecom and ACT Networks where he held the position of Managing Director of EMEA. David and John's
joint ventures included taking a theatre company to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and charity
tours to raise money for Cancer Treatment at Charing Cross Hospital notably falling foul of the
Capital Radio mobile facility with whom a disagreement broke out as to who was disturbing whom
with their music output during the Battersea carnival one year.
David’s decision to leave Harris, Grant Associates precipitated a review of opportunities in
the industry and the company was born with the clear aim of bringing a higher level of professional
management skill and design commitment to the field of technical facility design, an area not best
served by its practitioners and much loved by both.
The name “White Mark” was chosen from an ancient chalk landmark called “the white mark” in the
village of Watlington, Oxfordshire. This is where David was living at the time and from where
the company initially started trading. This landmark is in the shape of a large white chalk
triangle carved out of a circle of green grass on the hillside above Watlington. David’s wife
Caroline suggested that this was used as the basis for the new company name and it subsequently
also became the basis of our Logo.
Why is the white mark there? There are many rumors but the one we prefer is that in the Middle Ages
when Watlington was growing as a market town they didn’t have enough money to put a spire on the
Church, the more important market towns traditionally having a spire of significant proportions.
The council therefore decided to take a more cost effective approach and the town dug a chalk
spire in the hillside behind the church to line up with the church tower when viewed from the
old Oxford Road and the next village of Chadlington. This created the impression from the West
that the town did have a spire of a scale to inspire pride and was therefore able to face its
commercial rivals with greater confidence and a considerably fuller exchequer.
A model of financial prudence and image management that has significant resonance today.
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