Brooks, Oliver

Oliver Brooks was born December 23, 1930 in Sundridge, Ontario.  He grew up in that northern Ontario town against the backdrop of the Second World War, and once he had completed school and turned 18 he decided to join the forces.  Oliver wanted to be a paratrooper, so he was off to basic training at Camp Borden in 1950, followed by time in Camp Shiloh, where the jump tower was located. The Korean War started in the same time period, and in 1952 Oliver was deployed there.  In Korea he was attached to the Royal Canadian Regiment, and he saw action at Hill 355 and Little Gibraltar, where he performed patrols and did his part to hold the line against the North Korean forces.  Oliver was wounded when a Bren gun blew up, lacing him with shrapnel in his abdomen; after that he spent time in a MASH, followed by rehab.  While in Korea, Oliver also had the chance to do R&R in Japan, where he recalled seeing geisha girls.  Home from Korea in 1953 he signed on with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), where he stayed for 20 years, making a career in the Canadian Forces.  During that time he deployed to West Germany, Egypt and Cyprus, all key missions that formed part of Canada’s “Golden Age of Foreign Policy”.  Oliver was interviewed by Zach Dunn in March 2024, and Zach was kind enough to share this interview with us.  Ralph can also be seen on Zach’s channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8V_fFKALw65aPDC7UWJ0qg.