Donald N. Brown

Alderman: 1979-1985

Awarded Status of Freeman: March 22, 1993 (Presentation Made March 26, 1993)

Born in Birmingham, England, Don Neil Brown was just an infant when his family moved to Canada and settled in Winnipeg in 1922. He attended school in that city, but walked out of his Senior Matriculation classes on September 8, 1939 to join the Royal Canadian Engineers – a mere two days before Canada officially declared war on Germany and the Battle of the Atlantic began.

Two weeks later, Don eloped with his high school sweetheart, Helen, just months before he was to be shipped overseas with the 3rd Contingent of Canadian Troops. He served in the army with the Royal Canadian Engineer’s 12th Field Company and saw action in both Sicily and Italy.

Demobilized on June 20, 1945, Don returned to high school to obtain his Senior Matriculation and a year of university studies before re-enlisting in the army as a Second Lieutenant. He spent the next two years stationed in Chilliwack with his wife and their first child.

In 1947, Don left the army to join the ranks of the British Columbia Provincial Police force – embarking on a three-decade long career. His first assignment brought him to the city that he would eventually adopt as home – Burnaby – and he served here from 1947-1954, first as a member of the BC Police Department and then as a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman after the Provincial force was absorbed by their federal counterparts, the RCMP.

In 1954, Don was transferred to Regina, Saskatchewan and then on to Ottawa, Ontario to serve in the Crime Detection Laboratories. After a year and a half spent in training, he became qualified as an Examiner of Questioned Documents and travelled extensively throughout Ontario and Quebec, providing expert testimony in such matters as handwriting, counterfeiting, graphic arts, alterations, etc. During this time, he also attained the rank of first Corporal, and then Sergeant in the RCMP. In total, Don spent over nine years in Ottawa, and while working, managed to add to his education by taking courses from Carleton University, the RCAF and the Ottawa Teacher’s College at night.

In July, 1963, Don made his way back to the West Coast when he was transferred to Vancouver to be the Second in Charge of a new laboratory and head of the Document Section. He was soon promoted to Staff Sergeant. Once again, his experience and expertise was called upon and he devoted a great deal of time to providing expert testimony in BC and the Yukon. In May of 1970, he was promoted to Sub-Inspector and was transferred to Edmonton to take command of the new Crime Detection Laboratory built to serve Alberta and the Northwest Territories. By 1972, he was promoted to full Inspector. Under his direction, the new Edmonton lab became one of the most utilised in the RCMP.

Transferred back to Vancouver in 1975, Don became the Officer-in-Charge of a new Crime Laboratory and took over the National Police Services pilot project for British Columbia – overseeing work in the areas of computer sciences, laboratory, communications, records, and identification sections. He was rewarded for this work with a promotion to Superintendent in September, 1975.

In 1976, after a distinguished 35 years combined service to the armed forces and the police (and a list of awards and citations including the Meritorious Service Award BCPP-1950, the Commissioner’s Commendation RCMP-1951, Chief of Police Commendation-1951, and the Canadian Centennial Medal-1967), Don retired and founded his own laboratory to carry on his work in the field of questioned documents. He supplied his services as an expert witness throughout the western provinces and added to his list of associations and awards. He became a Fellow (Emeritus) of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, a Life Member (Emeritus) and Past Director of the Canadian Society of Forensic Sciences, a Member of the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Document Examiners.

It was at this point in his life, after his retirement, that Don decided to become involved in local politics and with the blessing of his wife and six children, he joined the Burnaby Voters’ Association as their Secretary and in 1978 was elected to a two-year term as a Burnaby School Trustee. After his two successful years as Trustee, he chose to run as a candidate for alderman during the next municipal election held in November of 1979. Not only did he win his seat for that election, but he was also successful in defending his position on Council during the next two elections as well, serving Burnaby as Alderman from 1979 to 1985.

During this time, Don also became a member of the Community College for the Retired, the Horsemen’s Society and the Burnaby Historical Society. He has also given his support to Arts Council programs and numerous other community functions over the years.

In 1991, Don was appointed as Chair of the Burnaby Centennial Committee, dedicating himself to making Burnaby’s Centennial celebration a memorable success. Throughout part of 1991 and all of 1992, Don gave his time unstintingly, often attending several meetings and/or functions a day. His contributions were always supported by his wife Helen, and their work during the Centennial Year was just one example of the strength of their 66-year partnership. They were both formally recognized for their efforts when they were chosen to receive the Kushiro Cup and named the Citizens of the Year in 1992. Also that year, Don was a recipient of the Canadian 125 Medal and one year later, in March 1993, Donald Brown was awarded Burnaby’s highest honour and was made a Freeman of the City of Burnaby.

Although currently in his 86th year, Don has shown no signs of ending his life-long service to the community and has recently written a book about the BC Provincial Police (Why? The Last Years of the British Columbia Police 1858-1950; 2000) and has worked on more than 2000 cases and 18,000 documents as a forensic consultant since his official retirement almost 30 years ago.