Hubert Brooks

Who is Hubert Brooks?

Hubert Brooks was a Canadian RCAF officer and hockey player who won a gold medal at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz. He joined the RCAF in 1940 and served during World War II, being shot down during his second mission over Germany in 1942. He was taken as a prisoner of war to Stalag VIII-B, from where he tried several unsuccessful escape attempts prior to making it to occupied Poland and joining the Polish Underground State as a guerrilla. He rose through the ranks of the rebel force, undertaking raids and assassinations against the Nazi occupation until the end of the conflict. He was one of only five RCAF members to receive the Military Cross for his actions and his award carried the longest citation of them all.

Brooks returned to Canada by way of Russia in 1945, and worked for the Missing Research and Enquiry Service for two years. He was then selected to join the Ottawa RCAF Flyers, who represented Canada at the 1948 Winter Olympics and captured the gold medal in the ice hockey tournament. After a series of exhibition games in Europe, he returned to Canada and entered military intelligence, serving at various posts until 1971, at which point he retired to take up an administrative position at the University of Ottawa. He died in 1984 and one of the student dorms, the Brooks Residence, is named in his honour.