BROWN, William John
| Service Number: | 1385 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Driver |
| Last Unit: | 12th Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Trentham, Victoria, Australia, September 1893 |
| Home Town: | Newbury, Moorabool, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Garlick's Lead State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Saw mill hand |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1385, 8th Light Horse Regiment | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 1385, 8th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Clan MacCorquodale embarkation_ship_number: A6 public_note: '' | |
| 13 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 1385, 8th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Clan MacCorquodale, Melbourne | |
| 1 Aug 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Driver, 12th Field Artillery Brigade |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
William John Brown was one of four brothers who served in the AIF, all sons of Thomas Bertram and Emma Amelia Brown of Trentham, Victoria.
Two of the brothers died and a third was made a prisoner of war, all in the period from 1916 and 1917.
William was returned to Australia on the orders of the Defence Department, probably because he was the only son left of his elderly parents.
His eldest brother, 1025 Pte. George Brown 6th Battalion AIF died of wounds during the Pozieres battle on 16 August 1916, aged 29. His youngest brother, 5056 Pte. Clarence Walter Brown 46th Battalion AIF, died of wounds inflicted at the Battle of Messines on 14 June 1917, aged 19.
William enlisted with the 8th Light Horse but was transferred to the 12th Field Artillery when he arrived on the Western Front during August 1916. He was evacuated to England during the freezing cold winter of November 1916, suffering from trench feet. He rejoined his unit in March 1917. He was slightly wounded on 23 September 1917. By this time his brother, Frederick Brown, had been captured by the Germans near Nieuport in Belgium, on 10 July 1917.
Mrs. Brown wrote a letter to Base Records on 20 August 1917.
“Dear Sir,
I take the liberty of writing these few lines hoping you will make some enquiries for me about my son that is missing since the 10th July No 3491 Sapper Fred Brown No.2 Tunnelling Coy. AIF France.
I would be so much obliged to you if you could tell me something, his poor hart broken mother, Mrs. T. Brown.
There is four of my sons went to the front and two are dead, the eldest and the youngest. The oldest was 1025 Pte G. Brown 6th Battalion AIF and the other one was the youngest 5056 Pte C.W. Brown 46th Battalion AIF, he died on the 13th June 1917 of this year only two months and my son that is missing was only last month on the 10th July. We have still one boy there I wish I could get him home now that he is all we have left and we are only two old people. Yours respectfully, Mrs. T. Brown.”
It seems that moves were afoot to get William Brown sent home, and notes in service file indicate that the Defence Department ordered he be returned to Australia on 3 December 1917. William was sent from France to England not long after and left England for Australia on 10 January 1918.