Brewster, George

George Brewster was born April 5, 1923.  He grew up in New Brunswick, the son of a Great War veteran who had enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps.  After the war his father worked for the railroad, managing to keep food on the table even during the difficult days of the Great Depression, a time that forced Canadians to be innovative, as George remembers it.  George’s family moved around a little during those years, but ended up in Minto, where George attended high school before leaving to help support the family.  When he could, he might go to the movies, but a ten cent matinee was a luxury in those days, so he instead attended school dances and Sunday school, picking up lifelong habits and lessons in both cases.  George delivered papers too, and he became aware of the terrible injustices unfolding in Europe.  George’s conviction was that it was up to normal people like him to step up, and he did just that, enlisting in the RCAF.  He went into the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, earning his wings and becoming a fighter pilot.  He headed overseas, and soon after began flying his Spitfire.  George spent much of 1944 learning his new aircraft, and seeing a bit of England and Scotland.  By early 1945 he went into combat, part of the RCAF tactical force, tasked with attacking ground targets related to the German war effort.  It was their job to attack trains and truck and ship convoys, doing whatever they could to stop the Germans and clear the way for Allied forces on the ground.  The end of the war brought intense memories for George and the other airmen, as many of them saw the recently liberated concentration camp, Buchenwald.  They had defeated the regime that perpetrated those horrible atrocities though, and George and many others volunteered to fight Japan, though the dropping of the atomic bombs in August 1945 ended that threat.  Now back in Canada, George adjusted to his new reality and worked to fall back into the rhythms of civilian life, which was not an easy transition.  He dedicated himself to family and friends, and tradition and remembrance, which we were privileged to hear in a zoom interview during the pandemic in December 2020.