Arthur Whitten Brown

Sir Arthur Whitten Brown KBE
Brown (left) with John Alcock in 1919
Born	(1886-07-23)23 July 1886 Glasgow Scotland,
Died	4 October 1948(1948-10-04) (aged 62) Swansea, Wales,
Buried at	St Margaret Churchyard, Tylers Green, Buckinghamshire, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army, Royal Air Force
Years of service	1914–19, 1939–43
Rank	Lieutenant-Colonel
Unit	University and Public Schools Brigade Manchester Regiment 2 Squadron Royal Flying Corps

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Arthur Whitten Brown, KBE (23 July 1886 – 4 October 1948) was the navigator of the first successful non-stop transatlantic flight.

Arthur Whitten Brown was born in Glasgow to American parents; his father had been sent to Scotland to evaluate the feasibility of siting a Westinghouse factory in Clydeside. The factory was eventually sited in Trafford Park in Stretford, Lancashire, and the family subsequently relocated there.

Brown began his career in engineering before the outbreak of World War I and undertook an apprenticeship with British Westinghouse in Manchester. In 1914, he enlisted in the ranks of the University and Public Schools Brigade (UPS) for which he had to take out British citizenship. The ranks of the UPS were full of potential officers and Brown was one of those who sought a commission to become a Second Lieutenant in the 3rd (Special Reserve) Battalion of the Manchester Regiment. After service in France, Brown was seconded to 2 Squadron Royal Flying Corps as an observer.

Brown's aircraft was shot down by anti-aircraft fire over Vendin-le-Vieil in France while on artillery observation duties. He was sent back to England to recuperate but returned only to be shot down again, this time with a punctured fuel tank, near Bapaume in B.E.2c (number 2673) on a reconnaissance flight on 10 November 1915. Brown and his pilot, 2nd Lt. H. W. Medlicott, were captured by the Germans. (In June 1918 Medlicott was shot by the Germans while attempting to escape for the fourteenth time). Later interned in Switzerland, Brown was repatriated in September 1917.