Capt. Brown, Air Ace, Dies
TORONTO, March 10.—Capt. A.
Roy Brown, 50, whose victory over Baron
Manfred von Richthofen earned him international fame as one of Canada's flying aces of the First Great War, died last night at his farm in nearby Stouffville.
The Carleton Place, Ont., native gained ranking with Air Marshal
W. A. (Billy) Bishop and Col.
R. G. Barker in an almost legendary Canadian air triumvirate by shooting down the German ace in April, 1918, when von Richthofen, the Red Knight of Germany, had 80 air victories to his credit.
Capt. Brown had been in ill health for some time but was well enough to contest unsuccessfully Toronto Woodbine riding as a Liberal in the provincial election last Aug. 4.
Educated in Toronto, Edmonton and at Willis College in Ottawa, Capt. Brown sought unsuccessfully to enlist in the Royal Flying Corps and later joined the Royal Naval Air Service. He was injured in an air accident shortly after reaching England and did not arrive in France until late in 1915.
USED WRIGHT FIELD
He trained at Dayton, O., on the first field built by the Wright brothers.
After the war he worked for an aircraft finishing firm. He resigned in 1934 to organize General Airways, operating out of Noranda, Que., and Halleybury, Ont. He retired a few years ago because of ill health.
He was an outstanding basketball and hockey player in his youth at Edmonton.
Survivors include his widow, the former Edith Monypenny; two daughters, Margaret and Barbara, both assistant section officers in the Women's Division of the R.C.A.F.; and one son, Donald.
Capt. Brown received the D.S.O. and D.F.C. with bar for his First Great War exploits.
"WOP" MAY'S TRIBUTE
EDMONTON, March 10.—Capt.
W. R. "Wop" May of Edmonton, alive today because of the accuracy of Roy Brown's fire in the First Great War, today paid tribute to Capt. Brown who died last night at Stouffville, Ont.
"I am very sorry," Capt. May said, "to learn of Roy Brown's death. Roy was a grand chap and a marvelous fighter. His passing brings back vivid memories of that day when Roy was instrumental in saving my life on my first trip over the enemy lines."
Capt. Brown had enlisted in Edmonton and attended Victoria high school here with Capt. May.
BISHOP'S TRIBUTE
OTTAWA, March 10.—Air Marshal W. A. (Billy) Bishop, director of recruiting for the R.C.A.F., paid tribute today to the late Capt. Roy Brown, his comrade-in-arms in air battles in the First Great War, as a "great fighter pilot" whose death last night was a "great loss to Canadian aviation."
Air Marshal Bishop issued the following tribute:
Capt. Roy Brown was a great fighter pilot. His career as a fighter pilot in the last war is too well known to Canadians to require elaboration from me. The part he played in building bush flying was of tremendous help in opening the Canadian north. Capt. Brown's death is a great loss to Canadian aviation.
The Lethbridge Herald (Lethbridge, Alberta) - Friday, March 10, 1944
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