Chief Petty Officer Bernays was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1910. He joined the merchant marine at an early age and in the 1930s served with Canadian National Steamships. In 1929, he joined the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve and was mobilized for the Second World War in 1939.
Serving in small ships, in 1941 he became the coxswain in the corvette HMCS Matapedia conducting convoy escort duties in the Atlantic. In March 1942, he was promoted to Acting Chief Petty Officer and drafted, as the coxswain, to the River-class destroyer HMCS Assiniboine, also engaged in Atlantic convoy escort.
On 6 August 1942, in an intense surface gun action against the German submarine U-210, HMCS Assiniboine maneuvered in and out of fog attempting to ram and sink the enemy submarine. Both vessels were firing high explosive shells at very close range, causing a fire which engulfed the bridge and wheelhouse of Assiniboine. Surrounded by smoke and flames, while steering the ship, Bernays ordered the two junior sailors to get clear, leaving him alone at the helm and trapped by the blaze. Besieged by flames, he executed all the helm orders as Assiniboine maneuvered for position against the U-boat, and did the work of the two telegraphmen, dispatching over 130 telegraph orders to the engine room. Several bullets and shells penetrated the wheelhouse as the enemy concentrated their machine-gun and cannon fire on the bridge. Eventually Assiniboine rammed and sank U-210 in what was considered to be an extremely hard fought action, during which the Canadians suffered one fatality and 13 wounded.
He was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for his valour and dauntless devotion to duty during the action. There remained some controversy with this award, as the Flag Officer Newfoundland Force, Rear-Admiral L.W. Murray Royal Canadian Navy, initially recommended him for the Victoria Cross. While the Royal Canadian Navy Honours and Awards Committee upheld this recommendation, British authorities decided the recommendation did not meet the strict criteria of a Victoria Cross and he was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal instead – he was one of only two members of the Royal Canadian Navy to receive the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal during the Second World War. Regardless, there remains a strong feeling that he deserved the higher award.
Post-war he stayed in the Royal Canadian Navy, served in the Korean War and retired as a Chief Petty Officer on February 20, 1960.
This bust of Chief Petty Officer Max Leopold Bernays was sculpted in 2011 by Christian Corbet. In 2012, Christian was named the Royal Canadian Navy sculptor-in-residence. This was the first such honour to be bestowed by the Royal Canadian Navy. He received it in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the Royal Canadian Navy and the preservation of its legacy.
Christian began working with the Royal Canadian Navy in 2010, which was Canada’s Naval Centennial. He offered to donate a sculpted bust of Admiral Sir Charles Kingsmill, known as the Father of the Royal Canadian Navy. The Royal Canadian Navy’s appreciation of this gift inspired Christian to donate a second bust in 2011. This one was of Chief Petty Officer Max Bernays.