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Arthur-Brown

A veteran interview with

Arthur Brown

Sergeant Arthur Brown originally joined the Royal Artillery in 1943. He soon found that it wasn’t really exciting enough…

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About Arthur Brown

Arthur Brown joined the army in 1943 as a radio operator in the Tank Regiment but soon became fed up with the training and volunteered for the Special Operations Executive (SOE). He joined Operation Jedburgh, which involved three-man teams—an allied commanding officer, a radio operator, and a local officer—being parachuted behind enemy lines around D-Day to work with resistance fighters in France and the Low Countries. There were around 100 ‘Jedburgh’ teams deployed in the European theatre mainly between June and September 1944. On the 9th of June, Brown, now a Sergeant, his team leader, the highly decorated Scottish officer, Major Tommy MacPherson and a French officer, Michel ‘Bourbon’ were dropped into central France to assist the Maquis. The ‘Jedburgh’s were dressed in military uniform to avoid being executed as spies, if captured. Brown’s role was to send coded radio messages back to the UK updating their operations but he became ill and had to be hidden by the Maquis, being moved around to avoid detection. After France was liberated, he and MacPherson continued similar operations in Italy until the German surrender. When faced with a possible posting to Germany, Brown volunteered to go to Burma and served there with other former ‘Jedburghs’ until the war’s end. 

Credits

Interviewed by:
Martyn Cox
Reviewed by:
Gary Washbrook

Transcripts:
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Home | Veterans | Arthur Brown

A veteran interview with

Arthur Brown

Arthur-Brown

Sergeant Arthur Brown originally joined the Royal Artillery in 1943. He soon found that it wasn’t really exciting enough…

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Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Brown, Arthur. A Veteran Interview with Arthur Brown. Interview by Martyn Cox. Legasee, n.d. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/arthur-brown/. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
APA Style:
Brown, A. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Arthur Brown [Interview by Martyn Cox]. Legasee. Retrieved April 23, 2026, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/arthur-brown/
Chicago Style:
Brown, Arthur. n.d.. A Veteran Interview with Arthur Brown. Interview by Martyn Cox. Legasee. Accessed April 23, 2026. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/arthur-brown/
Harvard Style:
Brown, A. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Arthur Brown. [Interviewed by Martyn Cox]. Legasee. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/arthur-brown/ (Accessed: 23 April 2026)
Vancouver Style:
Brown, A. A Veteran Interview with Arthur Brown [Internet]. Interview by M. Cox. Legasee; n.d. [cited 2026 Apr 23]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/arthur-brown/
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Service:
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