Roy Brown (RAF officer)
| Arthur Roy Brown | |
|---|---|
Arthur Roy Brown
|
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| Nickname(s) | Brownie |
| Born |
December 23, 1893 Carleton Place, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | March 9, 1944 (aged 50) Stouffville, Ontario, Canada |
| Allegiance | Canada |
| Service/branch | Royal Navy Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1915–1918 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | No. 9 (Naval) Squadron RNAS No. 209 Squadron RAF |
| Battles/wars | World War I • Western Front |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Cross & bar |
Captain Arthur Roy Brown, DSC & Bar, (23 December 1893 – 9 March 1944) was a Canadian First World War flying ace credited with ten aerial victories. The Royal Air Force officially credited Brown with shooting down Manfred von Richthofen, the "Red Baron" (who seems in fact to have been shot down by ground fire). What is less well known is that Brown never lost a pilot in his flight during combat, a rare distinction for an air unit commander of that war. This was due largely to his demands for a "breaking in" period in which new pilots flew over the fights just to see how they worked.
Brown was born to upper-middle class parents in Carleton Place, 30 miles (50 km) west of Ottawa. His family home still exists, located at 38 Mill Street, just down from the Town Hall. He was the middle of five children. He had two older sisters, Margaret and Bessie, and two younger brothers, Horace and Howard. His father had started business as a miller, but branched out into electrical generation when the first power grids were being set up around the start of the 20th century. His father eventually owned a power company in the town.
Though Brown did well in high school, he transferred to a business school to study accounting in order to eventually take over the family business. Following this course, he wanted to continue to university to study business administration, but he needed his high school matriculation, which he technically did not have. He took a course at the Victoria High School in Edmonton from 1913-15 to get his high-school diploma. There he befriended Wilfrid R. "Wop" May.
Brown enlisted in 1915 as an Officer Cadet at the Army Officers' Training. As a prerequisite to joining the Royal Naval Air Service Brown received flight training at the Wright Flying School near Dayton, Ohio, from September to November 1915. He was awarded the Aero Club of America Pilot's Certificate No. 361 on 13 November, and was confirmed as a flight sub-lieutenant in the RNAS on the 15th.
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