Alcock, John, and Brown, Arthur Whitten

Dates of birth: Alcock: November 6, 1892; Brown: July 23, 1886.

Places of birth: Alcock: Manchester, United Kingdom; Brown: Glasgow,

United Kingdom.

Died: Alcock: December 18, 1919;

Brown: October 4, 1948.

Major contribution: Flew the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean, 1919.

Awards: Alcock: Distinguished Service Cross and Knight Commander of the British Empire; Brown: Knight Commander of the British Empire.

ohn Alcock was raised just outside the large English city of Manchester and trained to become an auto mechanic when he finished school. His employer encouraged the young Alcock in his interest in airplanes. Alcock was then hired by French aviator Maurice Ducrocq to be a mechanic. Ducrocq taught him how to fly, and Alcock obtained a pilot’s license at age twenty.

Prisoners of War

When World War I began in 1914, Alcock joined the Royal Naval Air Service. At first, he was a flight instruc­tor, but he soon became a pilot. In Europe in 1917, Alcock shot down two German planes, for which he won a Distinguished Service Cross. Later the same day, on another mission, his own plane suffered engine trouble. Alcock was forced to crash land in Germany and was captured. He remained a German prisoner until the war ended in November 1918.

There were some striking similarities in the early lives of Alcock and Brown even though their beginnings were dif­ferent. Arthur Whitten Brown was born to American parents in Scotland, part of the United Kingdom. His family then moved to Manchester, where Alcock was raised. Trained as an electrical engineer, Brown became interested in aviation and joined the Royal Flying Corps early in World War I. Brown was shot down over Turkey in 1915 and he lived as a prisoner of war for two years.