Arthur Roy Brown was a Canadian fighter pilot credited with killing Germany’s top First World War ace, Manfred von Richthofen.
He obtained his private pilot’s license at the Wright School of Aeronautics in Ohio in 1915 and subsequently sailed to Britain to join the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). In November 1917, Brown received the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) award for his aerial victories, and in April 2018, he obtained the rank of Captain. On April 21, 2018, engaged in a fight with a German Squadron, Brown saw Manfred von Richthofen heading to attack his friend and fellow pilot Wilfrid May. Brown followed and shot at the German ace, who eventually crashed into a field.
He founded General Airways Limited in 1928, and in 1934 it became his full-time job. In 1943, he bought a farm in Stouffville, where he was to live for the short remainder of his life. On 9 March 1944, Brown died of a heart attack in his Stouffville home.
