RCAF Aviation History: Air Vice Marshal G.E. Brookes, CB, OBE
Air Vice Marshal G.E. Brookes, CB, OBE
Air Vice Marshal G.E. Brookes CB, OBE (22 October 1894– 8 September 1982), English by birth, was in charge of the Canadian Groupwithin Bomber Command during the period 1942 – 1944. He had been able to establish from abroad and out of nothing at all a complete Group and to prepare it forbattle. The British government was very impressed by this achievement and awarded him the Order of the Bath. The chief of Bomber Command, Air Marshal SirArthur Harris, however was not satisfied with Brookes and took his command away from him.
George Eric Brookes was born on 22 October 1894 in Yorkshire. When he was sixteen he emigrated with his parents to Canada. The Brookes familyestablished themselves in the little town of Owen Sound in Southern Ontario.When the First World War broke out a few years later, Brookes enlisted in theCanadian Forces. With the Royal Canadian Medical Corps, he left for France in1914, where he would serve for two years.
In 1916 he was offered the chance to be transferred tothe Royal Flying Corps, which he accepted. He became a pilot in No. 13Squadron. One year later however he was wounded, which was the end of the warfor him. After having recovered from his wounds he enlisted in the UK with theRoyal Air Force which was established after the war. He became a flightinstructor. After three years he returned to Canada and enlisted with the RCAFhoping to be able to make a career. In the following 15 years he occupiedvarious positions within the service.
When the Second World War broke out, Brookes wasengaged in the planning of the Canadian coastal defenses in the HQ Eastern Air Command in Halifax Nova Scotia. At that time, he had achieved the rank of GroupCaptain. In May 1940- he was promoted to the rank of Air Commodore and receivedthe command of No. 1 Training Command in Toronto. Two years later he left forEngland. Here the Canadian politicians pleaded the case of a special CanadianGroup to be established within Bomber Command. The heads of the RAF and BomberCommand, Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal and Air Marshal Sir Arthur Harrishad their reserves about this – in their minds – colonial experiment, butfinally they did agree.
Brookes was appointed on 24 October, 1942, as the headof the to be newly formed No. 6 Group, which became operational on the 1st ofJanuary 1943. Brookes had been allocated an enormous task. His new Groupcontained six airfields and eight squadrons in October 1942. Some of theairfields were under construction at that moment and apart from two of them,his squadrons still operated aging Vickers Wellington bombers.
Brookes succeeded in building an operational air Groupfrom scratch. In the night of 3 to 4 January 1943 No. 427 Squadron RCAF flewthe first mission of the Canadian Group. Brookes succeeded in modernizing andexpanding his Group continuously. The British government thought this anachievement of great impact and awarded Brookes with the Order of the Bath, forhis professionalism at establishing No. 6 Group. Without interruption, No. 6Group provided support to Bomber Command until 25 April 1945.
Although Brookes had accomplished a tremendous amountof work with No. Group, Harris was not impressed with his leadership qualities.Harris was especially concerned about the high percentage of bombers of No. 6Group that returned from a mission before the target had been reached.According to Harris this high percentage was due to a low morale as a consequenceof mediocre leadership. He thought Brookes to be too much of a fatherly figureinstead of the dynamic leaders he liked to see heading his Groups. Brookes andhis staff made an effort in the fall of 1943 to decrease the number of earlyreturning aircraft, but with little effect. Crews were to prove withphotographs that they were forced to return early and were extensivelyinterrogated about this. The percentage of No. 6 Group in November was onlyjust above the average of the other Groups. For Harris however, it wasinsufficient, and he replaced Brookes in February 1944 and appointed Air ViceMarshal Clifford McEwen as the new head of No. 6 Group. Brookes consequentlydecided to leave the RCAF in Nov 1944 and retired.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4818153)
Air Vice-Marshal C.E. McEwen, shaking hands with Air Vice-Marshal Brookes, 4Mar 1944.
After his retirement Brookes played a big part in the expansion of the RCAF Cadets. During the war in this organization young menwere trained for service in the RCAF, but after the war it concentrated more on the teaching of citizenship, leadership and fitness in combination with flyinglessons. Brookes was also chairman of the RCAF Association for some time. George Brookes passed away on 8 Sep 1982, at his home in Toronto. He was 87years of age. (RCAF Association)
