Published In People in AFS

Brewer, Leighton

* 1895/12/27† 1969/05/21

Who
WWI driver
When
WWI
Where
France
Education
Groton; Yale '20; Harvard '28.
Courtesy of the Archives of the American Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs.
Courtesy of the Archives of the American Field Service and AFS Intercultural Programs.
Further details

Leighton "Laddie" Brewer was born on December 27, 1895 in New York to Effie Leighton Brown and George Emerson Brewer, a New York City surgeon.

He attended Groton School and graduated from Yale in 1920. In 1928 he received a M.A. in English Literature from Harvard.

During WWI he served as an ambulance driver with SSU 1 in 1915 and again in 1917, before joining the U.S. Air Service. He was one of the original members of the 13th Aero Squadron and returned to France in January 1918 for training at Issoudun.

After the war he taught at At Groton, Harvard and Radcliffe and authored several books, including Riders of the Sky.
He married Helen Hamlin about 1926.

In WWII he was chief of the Psychological Warfare in London.

Leighton Brewer died May 21, 1969.

His brother, George Emerson Brewer, Jr. (1899-1968) was a playwright.

WWI File

Months of service
2, 1915
Section(s)
S.S.U. 1
Home at time of enlistment
New York City, USA
Subsequent Service
1st Lt. U.S. Aviation

Related Content

Groupings

Members of SSU 1