Brooke was off duty with three colleagues in Freckleton, Lancashire when a storm came in. They made a dash to the local café. In the skies above, a Liberator was on a test flight and got caught in the storm, losing control. It came down in the centre of Freckleton, demolishing three houses and the café - the area was covered in aviation fuel and ignited. The crash also took out the infants wing of Freckleton Holy Trinity School, where class was in session, killing 38 of the 41 students aged four to six, and a number of adults - at the time, it was the second worst crash in aviation history.
Brooke received burns to his face, hands, and right leg, and received treatment at QVH for the next five years.