Robert Cyril Claude Brooks (27 January 1930 – 23 September 1944) was the youngest Canadian soldier to die in the Second World War. A member of the Canadian Reserve Army, Brooks was killed in a training accident at the age of 14 on Prince Edward Island.[1]
Robert Cyril Claude Brooks | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | R. C. C. Brooks |
| Born | 27 January 1930 Summerside, Prince Edward Island |
| Died | 23 September 1944 (aged 14) Coleman, Prince Edward Island |
| Buried | Union Corner Cemetery, Prince Edward Island, Canada |
| Allegiance | Canada |
| Service | Canadian Army |
| Years of service | 1944 |
| Unit | 17th (Reserve) Armoured Regiment (Prince Edward Island Light Horse) |
| Relations | Son of Wanda Maude Brooks (1905–1991) and Eugene Ernest Brooks (1896–1979) Brother Eugene Russell Clair Brooks |
Origins and Death
editRobert Brooks was the son of Eugene Ernest Brooks and Wanda Maude Brooks. He enlisted in the 17th (Reserve) Armoured Regiment (Prince Edward Island Light Horse) in early 1944, apparently without his parents' permission.[1] Brooks was killed in a training accident near Coleman, PEI, at approximately 7:30 p.m. on 23 September 1944, when a Universal Carrier was driven through a guardrail on a bridge, overturning in the water below. Brooks was trapped beneath the overturned vehicle and drowned, along with two fellow members of the 17th (Reserve) Armoured Regiment, Sergeant D. C. Ramsay and Trooper W.N. Dennis.[1]
Aftermath
editThe Canadian Pension Commission determined that Boy Brooks' death was "related to military service"; however, his parents received no pension after his death, as the Pension Commission found that "It is not considered that the parents are in a dependent condition at the present time". Brooks' father was a serving member of the RCAF, and his mother was receiving a dependent's allowance and assigned pay from her husband.
Brooks is commemorated in the Canadian Virtual War Memorial[2] [3] and was added to the Canadian Books of Remembrance in June 2018 with Sgt. Ramsay and Tpr. Dennis.[2]
Bibliography
editNotes
References
- Black, Dan; Boileau, John (2016). Too Young to Die: Canada's Boy Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen in the Second World War. James Lorimer & Company. ISBN 9781459411739. - Total pages: 488
- Canadian Virtual War Memorial (2020). "Canadian Virtual War Memorial page for Boy R.C.C. Brooks". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission (2020). "Commonwealth War Graves Commission Casualty Record Boy R.C.C. Brooks". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved July 26, 2020.