Francis Roy Brown

Francis Roy Brown was born in Stockton, Manitoba, on September 13, 1896. He attended school in Winnipeg, Manitoba, until his enlistment in the Canadian Cycle Corps at the outbreak of World War I. He served with that unit in France at Ypres, Vimy Ridge, and Passchendaele, until he joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. After graduating from flying training as a pilot he joined No. 204 Squadron in France and shortly before the November 11, 1918, Armistice, he was shot down over Belgium. He returned to Canada in 1923.

Brown was hired as a pilot by Western Canada Airways Limited in 1927, based at The Pas and Cranberry Portage in Manitoba. Typical work included hauling mining equipment, food and supplies north to Rankin Inlet, and equipment, supplies and passengers for the Churchill River Power Company.

Francis Roy Brown, Canadian Cyclist Corps, 1914.

Francis Roy Brown, Flin Flon, Manitoba, April, 1929.

The fall of 1929 saw one of the most spectacular aerial searches ever organized in Canada's north. On August 24 two aircraft left Winnipeg with Colonel MacAlpine, Dominion Explorer's president, leading a mineral survey project. The pilots of the two planes were Stan McMillan, flying a Fairchild, and Tommy Thompson, flying a Fokker Super Universal. MacAlpine's plan was to cover over 32,000 square kilometres of land never before seen from the air. Their plan was to fly from Winnipeg into the Northwest Territories. Their route would be via Chesterfield Inlet, Baker Lake, Pelly Lake, Bathurst Inlet, Coppermine, Great Bear Lake, Fort Norman, Aklavik, then south to Fort Simpson, and return to Winnipeg via The Pas. They were to rendezvous with two other Dominion Explorer's aircraft on September 20. The rendezvous on the Arctic coast failed to happen. When the search was organized in late September, Brown was one of nine pilots from Western Canada Airways who spent ten weeks searching in the Baker Lake and Bathurst Inlet areas of the Northwest Territories. Members of the search parties were often in as desperate straits as the lost party themselves. Forced down on a remote Barren Lands lake, Brown spent one period of three weeks in his aircraft, with the temperature at forty and fifty below zero. The original exploration party was found, safe, at Cambridge Bay in the Arctic, although they suffered from hunger, frostbite and scurvy. It was a joyous day at The Pas on December 3rd when Brown touched down on Halcrow Lake with all the party in fair shape. All involved were brought back to Winnipeg on December 6th, but five of the rescue aircraft were damaged and had to be left in the North. They were repaired and brought out the following year.

From 1930 to 1932 Brown was superintendent and chief pilot of Western Canada Airways' prairie airmail operations with headquarters at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Their routes covered the cities of Winnipeg, Regina, Moose Jaw, Medicine Hat, Calgary, Saskatoon, Edmonton and North Battleford. However, flying the mail was considered too costly during the early thirties and the service was cancelled by the government in 1932. Brown then became Chief Pilot of the Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba, region for Canadian Airways Limited, established by James A. Richardson in 1930.

In 1934, in company with Milt Ashton, Ted Stull and Jack Moar, Brown organized Wings Limited, and became President and Operations Manager. Canadian Pacific Railway bought Wings Limited in 1941, and in 1942 formed Canadian Pacific Air Lines (CPA). Brown joined CPA and later took a leave of absence to become a test pilot of all new and rebuilt aircraft for Macdonald Brothers Aircraft at Winnipeg. Brown served in that capacity until 1945, during which time he test-flew some 2,500 aircraft. He then returned to CPA as Chief Pilot of the central district.

In 1947 he and Milt Ashton bought back their bush flying operation from CPA and organized Central Northern Airways, a predecessor of Trans-Air Limited of which Brown became a director.

From 1953 to 1958 Brown represented the constituency of Rupertsland in north-central Manitoba as the Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly. He died in Winnipeg on November 30, 1960.

There were many times in his life when F.Roy Brown tried to convince people that he was not the same Roy Brown known as "the Ace who brought down the famous Red Baron". However, they did have something in common besides the name Roy Brown and contemporary life times: both were well known in Canada for their involvement in the development of aviation in central Canada. A. Roy Brown founded and operated General Airways from 1928 to 1939.

Francis Roy Brown was inducted as a Member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame in 1976 at a ceremony held in Edmonton, Alberta.