HMCS Ojibwa Mourns Buster Brown

Deeply Saddened

We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of D.H. ‘Buster’ Brown, an icon amongst submariners, on Saturday, April 11th, 2020. From the time, HMCS Ojibwa became a gleam in our eye, Buster was put forward as a font of all knowledge when it came to Oberons. What is more, he took great pains to document his experiences and those of his mates over forty years. This effort is critical to the understanding the men of the Silent Service in Canada and includes a peek into the Royal Navy with whom he served aboard HMS Aeneas, an A-boat, during in the Indonesia-Malaysia conflict in the 1960s. This conflict saw the division of the island of Borneo into Malaysia, Sarawak and Indonesia.

An Outside Wrecker

Buster was an Outside Wrecker which, for the uninitiated, means there was not a nut or bolt or mechanical device outside the Engine Room on any sub on which he served with whom he was not personally acquainted. The Grey Rover incident in 1973 was a singular challenge for this Cold War Wrecker who liked to say ‘it’s all about attitude and adaptation’. Buster served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1954 to 1995 which encompassed utilizing his many skills to train companies during the Gulf War and he was stationed in Somalia during the 1990s.

The Smile Says it All

This is what we at the Elgin Military Museum know about Buster. This, and what is revealed in a simple collage of photos in our files. The smile says it all. It reveals he was a man who loved his work and his friends and his country. He was a pirate through and through.
 
We look forward to learning more about him from his many colleagues who must have him at the forefront of their thoughts at this sad time of the COVID-19 crisis which will prevent them from gathering together.