Alan Francis Brooks was born on August 20th, 1917 in London, England and was raised in Montréal, Quebec. He would go on to join the Royal Canadian Armed Forces and serve overseas with the Bomber Command during WWII. After the war, he earned a degree in Chemical Engineering at McGill University in Montréal, which led to a job with mining company Cominco Ltd. (currently known as Teck Resources Ltd.) in Trail, British Columbia. The facility he worked at had a large smelter that used a significant amount of power, causing him to become attentive to cheap power alternatives. As such, Alan was highly interested in hydroelectric projects being undertaken in the Pacific Northwest, especially the Columbia River Treaty and the Columbia Basin Project. In pursuit of the former, he dedicated time outside of work to actively following local news coverage of the treaty and filling twenty-six scrapbooks with newspaper clippings detailing its development.

Alan’s job with Cominco also prompted transfers that would take him to Montréal, Calgary, and Vancouver, where he would eventually settle down and retire. In retirement, he spent his time photographing nature, continuing his lifetime hobby of collecting stamps, and becoming a member of the Golden Agers Hiking Club as well as the philatelic group The 21 Club. He remained in Vancouver until the end of his life at the South Granville Park Lodge retirement facility. Alan passed away on November 26th, 2015 at the age of 98, surrounded by family. He was predeceased by his first wife Audrey Holmes Brooks and his second wife Muriel Floud Brooks and he is survived by his daughters Carolyn and Louise and grandchildren Ryan, Brendan, and Alexa.