NUMBER:

RAAF 401893

BATTALION / UNIT / SHIP:

Flight Sergeant 37 Operational Training Unit

PLACE OF BIRTH:

Seaview near Warragul 1 February 1919

NEXT OF KIN:

George Brown, his father. He was the son of George and Mary Brown  of Peart Street Leongatha

DATE & PLACE OF ENLISTMENT:

 26 April 1941 Melbourne

LOCATION ON ENLISTMENT:

Melbourne Gardenvale

OCCUPATION:

Electrical fitter

DATE & PLACE OF DEATH:

25 March 1943 aged 24 in a training crash

LOCATION OF GRAVE/MEMORIAL:

He is buried in Chevington Cemetery England, on memorials at Leongatha and at Leongatha High School.

RELATIONSHIP TO WOORAYL SHIRE:

Eric lived in Leongatha for most of his life with his family. He attended Leongatha State school and Leongatha High School.

MILITARY/OTHER HISTORY:

Eric came to Leongatha at a young age and spent most of his life in the town living in Peart St near the town centre.

Eric attended Leongatha State School and Leongatha High School (1931 to 1935). In Year 11 he studied English, Maths I, II IV, Economics, Drawing and Physics. In 1937 he attended the Melbourne Technical College studying Electrical Fitting, Mechanical and Heat Engineering, Maths IIc, Calculus and Engineering Drawing. Football, cricket, tennis and athletics were his sporting interests. Eric joined the local 29/22 Militia Battalion where he remained until he joined the Air Force in April 1941.  Before he enlisted Eric lived in the Melbourne suburb of Gardenvale.

On the 1 September 1941 he was attached to the Royal Air Force and left Sydney to go to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) in Africa. Eric stayed in Rhodesia until 21 June1942.  On the way to England he briefly stopped in Egypt where he accidentally met up with his brother Colin, also a past student of Leongatha High School. Colin never saw Eric again. His accidental death was recorded on a flying casualty sheet. Eric Brown was killed as a result of an aircraft accident at Dunsdale, Northumberland :

 �The aircraft in which Flight Sergeant Eric Brown was pilot and sole occupant was engaged on a training flight by day on the 25th of March 1943. Whilst carrying out an air flying exercise the aircraft was observed to fly into a hillside, Flight Sergeant Eric Brown being killed. The aircraft was a spitfire number P8587 and he was flying in low cloud�.