It was just six days until Christmas, and Paul Newman was concerned about an elderly neighbor.
Peter Brown, World War Two veteran was 96.
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He had recently fallen on the way to the shops and inflicted injuries.
Concerned when Peter didn’t answer his door, Paul, a retired travel agent, and his wife Betty called the police.
Officers forced open the door to find the deceased RAF Wireless Operator had passed away in his sleep.
Paul, 77 years old, was aware that Peter had arrived in Britain to join RAF. He had been born in Jamaica.
He was one of the few survivors from the 450 black pilots known as the Pilots Of The Caribbean.
It was also known that Peter, a keen cricket fan who had lived close to Lords in London for half of a century, rarely spoke with his family in West Indies. He was single and never had children.
As he identified Peter’s body, Paul feared this forgotten war hero would not get the send-off he deserved with no family members to mourn his passing.
But four months on, Flight Sergeant Peter Brown’s last mission is accomplished, thanks to Central Recorder.
After we appealed for Peter to be given a funeral befitting his importance, next month he will be given a military funeral at the RAF’s own church in London, where 600 people can attend.
Plans exist for an RAF Flypast to his honor.
And hopefully among the mourners at St Clement Danes Church on May 25 will be Peter’s long-lost relatives who were tracked down after our article sparked an international hunt by historians and genealogists.
Until they got involved, Peter’s friend Paul was drawing a blank. He had hoped to be allowed to look at the former RAF man’s Christmas cards and let his relatives know of his death.
He says: “In the 20 years I knew him, Peter never talked about his family in the Caribbean.”
Sadly Peter’s tiny rented ground-floor flat was cleared out soon after police decided that the death was not suspicious and the cards, which were a vital link to relatives back in Jamaica, were lost.
But Phil Turvey, Executive Director of Anglia Research Services, saw Central Recorder’s appeal last month to find Peter’s family.
He says: “We have an office in the West Indies and worked with colleagues there to find a number of people related to Peter and who remember him well.”
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The research showed that Peter had a cousin named Shirley Frances de Mercado. However, Anthony Foster, her husband of 52-years, was able to recall Peter fondly.
Peter and Shirley were friends for many years and they exchanged Christmas cards.
Gerry (85) had seen him several times in Jamaica, England.
Gerry confirmed what Peter told Paul Newman in 2020 for a neighbourhood magazine to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day — that he had volunteered to join the RAF as a teenager in Jamaica.
Paul says: “Peter didn’t want to elaborate too much on what he did in the war.
“He did tell me that he’d had to lie a little bit about his age to join up. He was only 16.
“He told me he’d been based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire and there was a rumour among the neighbours that he was one of the Dambusters.
“Peter wasn’t a Dambuster but at Scampton he was sharing the same air base with the guys that carried out the raid on the German dams.
“We know for certain he was a wireless operator and air gunner on Lancaster bombers with 625 Squadron.
Peter was a funny guy and we quickly got along. He and I enjoyed some whiskies, as well as a few beers. He was very nice. He was returning to Jamaica for the first time since he left England in 1970.
Anthony Foster is also known as Gerry
“I wrote all this down and when I put the article together and sent him a copy of the magazine he was a little bit annoyed.
“For Peter to show any annoyance was quite rare, he said ‘oh, you didn’t have to mention about me lying about my age’. He thought they might still come after him.”
Researchers at the International Bomber Command Centre claim that Peter arrived in Scampton shortly after VE Day.
The RAF no longer kept flight logs after the war, but Peter Brown appears to have flown five missions in 625 Squadron’s six-year-old squadron. They dropped thousands upon thousands of tonnes of food for the starving Dutch people.
They flew British prisoners of war home from European camps.
After the war Peter went back to the Caribbean to work for Gerry’s father at the Jamaica Coconut Producers Association in Kingston.
Peter decided wages in England were better so he went back to London in late 1940s. He rejoined the RAF and served four years, before becoming a civil servant in the Ministry of Defence.
Shirley and Gerry reunited after years of separation.
Gerry and Peter were bonded by their common obsession with cricket. They watched England Test matches at Lords in 2005.
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He remembers: “Peter had a great sense of humour, we got on quite well. He was an interesting guy, and we enjoyed a couple beers together.
“We didn’t talk much about the war when we spent time with Peter and Shirley invited him back to Jamaica – which of course coincided with another Test series…
“It was the first time in 40 years he had come home and he stayed nearly two weeks.
“He just loved it – the food, the jerk pork, I took him to the country, the North coast.
“I later went back to England – we saw cricket again – England v Australia in the Ashes but after we came back we lost touch a bit.
“When Shirley died I tried to reach out on the phone number I had but couldn’t get in touch with him. I feared he’d died and we didn’t know.
“When I saw the story on the news last month and the Lancaster planes he used to fly in I knew it was him.”
Flying seems to be in the family blood – as Gerry’s son Rohan is now a pilot.
Rohan still remembers the impact Peter had on him when they met at the former flyer’s flat in Maida Vale.
He says: “I saw all his old memoirs of the Second World War, I was fascinated by him.
“His confidence, his memory, the passion of which he spoke about his experience, I found it phenomenal.
“His fire and passion, he truly loved what he did. He recalled it like it was yesterday. It was his moment.
“And even years later, when he was in his 70s, Peter still had his Jamaican twang.”
Gerry’s daughter, also named Sharon, 59, who lives in Florida describes the public response to Peter’s story as ‘heart-warming’.
She says: “It’s been so lovely. The TV showed it and the newspaper reported on it. Dad called up and told us ‘did you realise this is your mother’s cousin?’
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“I never got to know Peter but I’ve loved learning about him, it’s been so exciting to hear about our relatives who had such a significant role.
“He did a great job, and for him to be recognised like this it’s so wonderful.
“Dad remembers him as a sharp, independent, funny man.”
Sharon’s husband Merv, 72, was on the family trip to visit Peter in London in 2005.
He says: “Peter was such a pleasant fellow, very knowledgeable, and intelligent.
“He spoke a bit about the war, but not too much. It’s only fair these people are recognised for their service – it’s such a sacrifice he made.
“I’m so happy to see what they are doing for him – it’s great to hear the church will be packed out.
“It will be lovely if some of us can go to the funeral.”
Sharon’s daughter Brooke Alexander, 31, hopes to make the 4,600-mile trip from her home in Kingston, Jamaica, to London to attend Peter’s funeral.
She says: “When I first heard he’d died alone, it broke my heart.
“If we couldn’t be there in his life, I really hope in his death we can get his family there to pay our tributes to him.”