Captain Arthur Roy Brown was born on December 23, 1893, in Carleton Place, Ontario. In the summer of 1915, he applied to Britain’s Royal Naval Air Service but was told he first needed a private pilot’s license. The nearest Canadian flying school was full, so he attended the Wright School of Aviation in Dayton, Ohio and obtained his pilot’s license on November 13, 1915. He enrolled in the Royal Naval Air Service and was sent to Royal Naval Air Service Station Chingford in northeast London to learn the fundamentals of military flying and dropping bombs.
He was injured on May 2, 1916, when he crashed a training airplane and was hospitalized for two months. In March 1917, Brown was posted to No. 9 Naval Squadron, was injured again and did not recover until May. On November 2, Brown was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his aerial victories and for aiding a fellow pilot under attack by four German aircraft, even though his own machine guns had jammed. By April 1918, he had shot down nine enemy aircraft.
On the morning of April 21, 1918, Brown and other pilots in 209 Squadron became involved in a dogfight with a German squadron including top ace Manfred von Richthofen and his cousin, novice pilot Wolfram von Richthofen. The Red Baron broke off to pursue Canadian pilot “Wop” May, who was on the tail of his cousin. Brown saw that his friend was in trouble and disengaged to attack Richthofen. He fired a long burst from behind and pulled out of a steep dive to avoid a collision. Richthofen continued over Allied territory and was fired at by British and Australian soldiers until he crashed into a field.
Four days later, Brown was grounded and hospitalized with severe food poisoning and extreme exhaustion, then sent to England to recover. Soon afterwards, he was recommended to receive the Distinguished Service Cross with Bar. Released from hospital on June 6, Brown reported for duty as an instructor with No. 2 School of Aerial Fighting and Gunnery in Yorkshire. On July 15 just after takeoff, his engine failed, the aircraft stalled and crashed. Seriously injured again, Roy spent eight months in hospital before being sent back to Canada on March 8, 1919 and was released from the Royal Air Force in April 1920 with the rank of Captain. Captain Brown tried to join the Royal Canadian Air Force when the Second World War began, but was rejected.
