Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Arthur Whitten Brown, KBE (23 July 1886 – 4 October 1948) was a British military officer and aviator. He served as the navigator on the first successful non-stop transatlantic flight in June 1919. This flight was completed with pilot John Alcock.

Biography

Arthur Whitten Brown was born in Glasgow, Scotland, to American parents. His father, Arthur George, was an electrical engineer who had been sent to Scotland to determine whether a Westinghouse factory should be built on Clydeside. After Brown was born, the family moved to Chorlton and lived at "Ellerslie," 6 Oswald Road.

The factory was later built in Trafford Park, Stretford, Manchester, and the family moved there afterward.

Both Arthur Whitten Brown and John Alcock attended Manchester Central High School, a school often called the Central High School for Boys. Alcock left school at the age of 16.

Before World War I began, Brown started working in engineering and completed training with British Westinghouse in Manchester. In 1914, he joined the University and Public Schools Brigade (UPS) and became a British citizen to do so. Many members of the UPS were future officers, and Brown aimed to become a Second Lieutenant in the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Manchester Regiment. After serving in France, Brown was assigned to 2 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps as an observer.

During a mission to observe artillery positions, Brown’s plane was shot down by anti-aircraft fire over Vendin-le-Vieil, France. He returned to England to recover but was shot down again on November 10, 1915, near Bapaume, France, while flying a reconnaissance mission in a B.E.2c aircraft (number 2673). The plane had a damaged fuel tank. Brown and his pilot, 2nd Lieutenant H. W. Medlicott, were captured by German forces. In June 1918, Medlicott was shot by the Germans while trying to escape for the 14th time. Brown was later held as a prisoner in Switzerland and returned to England in September 1917.

After a period of rest, Brown worked with Major Kennedy of the Royal Air Force in the Ministry of Munitions. This job led him to meet Major Kennedy’s daughters, one of whom he later married. Brown married Kathleen (Marguerite) Kennedy, daughter of Major David Henry Kennedy of "Norbiggen," 26 Oakley Avenue, Ealing, on Tuesday, July 29, 1919, at the Savoy Chapel. The ceremony was officiated by Rev. Hugh Chapman, and the reception was held at a nearby hotel. Major Kennedy was born on August 20, 1869, at 306 Bensham Road, and died in November 1940.

Kathleen was born in Gateshead on April 6, 1896, and died on May 1, 1952, in Swansea. She was buried at Tylers Green. Her parents moved to Sweetthorpe Cottage in Penn, Buckinghamshire, in 1919.

After the war, Brown sought jobs that would provide financial stability to support his marriage. One of the companies he contacted was Vickers. As a result, he was asked to serve as the navigator for a planned transatlantic flight, partnering with John Alcock, who had already been selected as the pilot.

Transatlantic flight

On 14 June 1919, a flight from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Connemara, Ireland, took place. The airplane left St. John's at 1:45 p.m. local time and arrived at Derrygimla bog 16 hours and 12 minutes later after traveling 1,980 miles (3,168 km). The flight was completed in a modified Vickers Vimy bomber, which earned the pilots a £10,000 prize from London's Daily Mail newspaper for the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic. A few days after the flight, Brown and Alcock were honored with a reception at Windsor Castle, where King George V awarded them with their insignia as Knights Commanders of the Order of the British Empire.

Post flight career

Later, he worked for Metropolitan-Vickers (MetroVick), a company that was formerly known as British Westinghouse. In 1923, he was named the main representative for Metropolitan-Vickers in the Swansea area.

During World War II, Brown served in the Home Guard as a Lieutenant-Colonel. He left this position in July 1941 and joined the Royal Air Force (RAF), working in RAF Training Command as a pilot officer who helped with navigation. His health worsened over time, and by mid-1943, he had to leave the RAFVR due to medical advice. He also stopped his responsibilities with the Air Training Corps at that time.

Personal life

Brown's only son, Arthur (known as Buster), died on the night of June 5-6, 1944, at the age of 22. He was serving as a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force (RAF) when his aircraft, a de Havilland Mosquito VI NT122 from 605 Squadron, crashed in the Netherlands. Buster was buried in the general cemetery in Hoorn, the town nearest to the crash site. The loss of his only son deeply affected Brown.

Death

By 1948, Brown's health had worsened, though he was permitted to perform limited tasks as general manager for Metropolitan-Vickers at the Wind Street offices. Brown passed away on 4 October 1948 while sleeping due to an accidental overdose of Veronal, a type of sleeping pill, at the age of 62. Brown and his wife's ashes are buried at St Margaret Churchyard, Tylers Green, Buckinghamshire, England.

Works

• "Flying the Atlantic in Sixteen Hours, with a Discussion of Aircraft in Commerce and Transportation" by Frederick A. Stokes. Originally published in 1920. ISBN 9781409718871. Note: There is an incompatibility between the ISBN and the publication date. Reprinted by READ BOOKS in 2008 with ISBN 978-1-4097-1887-1.
• "Our Transatlantic Flight" by Alcock and Brown. Published by William Kimber in 1969. ISBN 978-0-7183-0221-4.