Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Vibert McKirdy Brown, known as Bertie, was born on 14th November 1885 at Durban, Natal, South Africa, the 2nd son of Matthew and Jessie Brown.  His older brother was Douglas.  At the age of 14 Bertie contracted scarlet fever.  Prior to WW1 he was living in Atherton QLD and working as a contractor.

On 17th June 1916 Bertie enlisted for WW1 with the AIF at Cairns QLD aged 30.  He’s described as being 6ft tall with a dark complexion, brown eyes and dark brown hair.  His service number was 4494, his rank Private and he was assigned to the 31st Infantry Battalion 12th Reinforcements.  He proceeded for training to the 11th Depot Battalion at Enoggera Army Camp in Brisbane where he attended the Corporal School.  He embarked from Sydney on 22nd December 1916 on HMAT Demosthenes and was appointed as Corporal just for the voyage only.  He disembarked at Plymouth, England, on 3rd March and proceeded to the 8th Training Battalion at Hurdcott Camp on the Salisbury Plain and reverted to the rank of Private. 

In late July 1917 Bertie proceeded to the School of Instruction at Kandahar Barracks, Tidworth, and was appointed EDP (Extra Duty Pay) Corporal whilst at the school.  After completing his time at the school he returned to Hurdcott Camp in mid-September 1917.  Two weeks later he embarked for France from Southampton and upon arrival at the 5th Division Base Depot at Harfleur reverted to the rank of Private.  On 5th October 1917 he joined the 31st Battalion in the field at Connaught Camp, Wippenhoek, Belgium.  In mid-December 1917 he was admitted to the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station (1ACCS) near Hazebrouck with gastritis and enteritis then transferred to the 2nd Field Ambulance (2nd FA).  He re-joined his battalion in late December 1917 at Desvres, France, east of Boulogne. 

In late January 1918 he took leave to Paris then in late February he was admitted to 14th FA with scabies and transferred to 15th FA Advanced Dressing Station (ADS) with trench nephritis.  This was a serious condition that affected thousands of troops during WW1.  The symptoms included high blood pressure, swelling of the face and legs, headache, sore throat, difficulty breathing and bronchitis.  It was a prolonged illness with subsequent relapses.  He was transferred to a hospital train which took him to Boulogne where he was admitted to the 14th General Hospital.  In early March 1918 he was evacuated to England on the hospital ship St Denis and admitted to No. 6 War Hospital at Exeter.  He was there for 3 months before being transferred in mid-June to the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital (3AAH) at Dartford.  A medical board ruled him permanently unfit for duty so in early July he proceeded to the No. 2 Command Depot at Monte Video Camp, Weymouth, where he remained until he was invalided to Australia on HMAT Medic on 24th August 1918.  He disembarked at Sydney on 9th October 1918 then proceeded by train to Queensland.  He was discharged from the service on 8th May 1918. 

Bertie married Dorothy Raff at All Saints Church, Brisbane, on 18th November 1921.  Dorothy had served as a nurse with the Queen Alexandria Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve (QAIMNSR) and the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) during WW1.  They welcomed a daughter Marjorie in 1923 followed by a son Alexander in 1927.  

From 1925 Bertie worked as an architect in Atherton and over the next two decades he completed a wide variety of buildings throughout the Cairns and Atherton Tablelands area.  He had a long association with the Atherton District Hospital Board and was responsible for many of the Atherton Hospital buildings constructed in the 1920s and 30s.

Bertie also designed many buildings for the Catholic Church in the region including St Augustine's Church School and Convent at Mossman (1934).  He also designed several buildings for the Returned Sailors' and Soldiers' Imperial League of Australia including their club rooms on the Esplanade in Cairns (1938).

In his home town of Atherton, he designed many civic and commercial buildings, including the Tinaroo Shire Council Chambers (1928), various shops, and the Grand Hotel (1933) on the corner of Main and Vernon streets.  

In Mossman, he designed the heritage-listed Exchange Hotel (1934), the former Jack and Newell Building (1936), which stands opposite the Exchange Hotel on the corner of Mossman Street, Mill Street and Junction Road.  Other notable works by Brown include an extension to Boland's Department Store in Cairns (1936) now the Bolands Centre, the Rex Theatre in Cairns (1938), and the Mareeba Fire Station (1939).

Bertie and Dorothy moved to Brisbane in the early 1940s and were living at Taringa when Bertie passed away from heart failure on 29th December 1957 at St Martin’s Hospital in Brisbane aged 72.  He was cremated at Mt Thompson Crematorium and his ashes were scattered in the Memorial Gardens there.  Dorothy joined him in April 1980 aged 90.            

Vibert McKirdy Brown was awarded for service in WW1 the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.   

Respectfully submitted by Sue Smith 5th September 2023.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibert_McKirdy_Brown