Arthur Roy Brown and Ronald Sykes

Some readers might be interested to know that the pilot whose life was undoubtedly saved by Roy Brown’s action on 20 September 1917 was my grandfather Ronald Sykes (listed), who related this episode to me.

He had previously shot down an Albatros D.III (also listed), but his machine had been hit and his vision was obscured by hot oil spraying into his face. He and the German pilots, obliged to break off pursuit, were clearly impressed with Roy Brown’s flying skills and quite unaware that both his guns were jammed!

Having landed and crossed the Yser River my grandfather was very well treated by nearby infantry but said he felt much safer in the air!

While serving with the Royal Air Force in Russia in 1919 he was captured when his Camel crashed in a lake near Archangel. He sought help from soldiers who were wearing White Russian uniforms only to discover they were Bolsheviks! He was marched all the way to Moscow where he was detained in Lubyanka Prison until freed the following year, courtesy of the Red Cross. During this time he could converse only with a priest who spoke Latin as he spoke no Russian and the Russians spoke no English.

Ronald Sykes recorded his WWI experiences, based on his flying logs, for the Imperial War Museum in 1976. He died in September 1977.

[MilesC]

Hi Roy,

Thanks for the info. May I add this to my biography of Roy Brown at www.constable.ca?

Thanks

Hi Miles,
You're welcome to use this information if it's helpful.
I found your history of Roy Brown fascinating and can recommend it to others.
I can also recommend the National Aviation Museum in Ottawa which is stunning - the greatest collection I have seen anywhere.
Regards.
Richard Sykes.

Hi Miles,
You're welcome to use this information if it's helpful.
I found your history of Roy Brown fascinating and can recommend it to others.
I can also recommend the National Aviation Museum in Ottawa which is stunning - the greatest collection I have seen anywhere.
Regards.
Richard Sykes.

[charles]

The Aero Conservancy is a virtual museum on the world wide web of artifacts from the air war in 1914-1918, including a Combat Report of your grandfather's and a great deal of research surrounding it. The only known photo of one of his mounts, Camel B6378, is there along with some photos during his life. Would love to know what you think.

Charles Gosse
The Aero Conservancy
http://www.aeroconservancy.com

[Frank_Olynyk]

Richard,
Would it be possible for you to supply the date and place of Ronald Sykes' death? I do not have it, and it is not shown on bio page under Aces.

Frank.

Charles,
The Aero Conservancy is a fascinating site well worth visiting. I can recommend it to others.
I found much of general and personal interest among the carefully researched and detailed information.
It might be worth checking with the Imperial War Museum to see if their digitisation programme includes my grandfather's recordings (on audio cassettes in 1991) which may then be more widely available for researchers like yourself.
They also have various of his papers and other artifacts.
Regards,
Richard.

Originally Posted by Frank_Olynyk

Would it be possible for you to supply the date and place of Ronald Sykes' death? I do not have it, and it is not shown on bio page under Aces.

Ronald Sykes died September 15, 1977 at Bredon,
Gloucestershire, England.

I hope this is helpful.

Richard Sykes.

[Frank_Olynyk]

Richard,
Many thanks for the information. Much appreciated.

Frank