Born in Chatham, ON. the son John Ernest and Miriam Ann (nee Morris) Brown of 21 Houston St., Chatham, ON., The brother of Berenice and Lucia. The husband of Delores J. (nee Zilz), They married in 1946.  Prior to his enlistment he was employed by the Ontario Steel Products in Chatham.      

He trained in Canada at Windsor, ON., Dundurn Sask., Camp Borden, ON. The WN 27/01/44 reported that Gnr. Leonard Brown was stationed at Vancouver BC., serving with the 24^th Regt. RCA.  He went overseas 14/07/1943 joining the 30^th Reconnaissance Regt. (Windsor).  17^th Duke of Yorks Royal Canadian Hussars. Leonard served in England, France, Belgium, Holland and finally, in Germany. During his time in Europe he was hospitalized three times.

Leonard enlisted 22/09/1942 at Windsor, ON. with 30^th Reece Regt. from Windsor, ON., though he really wanted to join the RCAF, he thought it “Sounded so exciting.” It was his father that suggested “Stick to the ground forces, you are a motorcycle rider. Why don’t you join the armored corps and be a dispatch rider.” The 30^th Reconnaissance was part of the Canadian Armoured Corps, based out of Windsor.

 

Leonard was discharged from the Army 23/03/1946.

He didn’t get the dispatch riders job, but instead, he became the driver in a WASP; a Universal Carrier converted to be a mobile flamethrower.

He spent eight months in the notoriously dangerous vehicle, lightly armoured, carrying a drum of flammable liquid on the rear. “You had to be inside 60 yards of your target which was most often a machine gun nest.” Luck had to do a lot with his survival of WASP crews. Leonard confirmed he felt very lucky. 

On one occasion, his luck almost ran out. “The infantry was pinned down behind a railroad embankment by a German machine gun nest and the infantry couldn’t advance.” On this day, his regular Corporal who would be in charge of the WASP was off sick and he was replaced with a Corporal with little experience, advertised by his standing up in the carrier exposed to enemy fire as they made their way down the road to the embankment. Suddenly, the Corporal shouted “Len, STOP!”

What the Corporal had seen was a couple of paving stones sticking up from the roadway. This was a telltale sign of German mines that were ready to explode as soon as the WASP ran over the bricks. Closer examination revealed three mines, and one that was directly under the vehicle. They carefully reversed, and it was while doing this that both the Corporal and Leonard realized the machine gun hadn’t fired on them; likely thinking the mines would get them. Leonard was involved in the liberation of Antwerp; a port vital to the Allied advance into the Netherlands and Germany.

On the last day of WWII, Len was ready for battle in Germany. “We were on a highway outside of Aurich to attack at dawn.” When the sun rose that morning there was no order to attack. The troops began to worry since they were ‘sitting ducks’; exposed on the road. Word finally came over the radio that the war was over. “Wouldn’t it have been horrible to be killed on this day”, Leonard thought.

Returned to Canada with the 17^th Duke of Yorks Royal Canadian Hussars. Leonard was discharged from the Army 23/03/1946.

After the war, he was employed at Ontario Steel Products after he retired from the Rockwell International where he was a superintendent of the Bumper “A” stamping dept.

In December of 2014, Leonard was presented with a pin and a certificate from the Federal government in recognition for his service on the 75^th anniversary of the start of World War II CDN23/12/14.

Leonard passed away 21 October, 2017. [final resting not noted].   Age:  96 years.  Obit: CDN 25/10/17.

 

 

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Awards	1939-1945 Star, Defence Medal, France & Germany Star
Sources	IODE(P), OSP-RH, CTW (15/07/15(P)) (VR)

Birthplace	Chatham, Ontario
When Enlisted	September 22nd, 1942
Next of Kin	Mother- Mrs. Miriam Brown

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