BROWN, Horace John
| Service Number: | 3111 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 August 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 52nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Aramac, Queensland, Australia, 22 July 1883 |
| Home Town: | Blackall, Blackall Tambo, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Grazier |
| Died: | Killed in action, Dernancourt, France, 5 April 1918, aged 34 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Aug 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3111, 52nd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Dec 1916: | Involvement Private, 3111, 52nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Demosthenes embarkation_ship_number: A64 public_note: '' | |
| 23 Dec 1916: | Embarked Private, 3111, 52nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Demosthenes, Sydney |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Horace John Brown was born in Queensland during 1883 and served in the Boer War with the 1st Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse during 1902 at nineteen years of age.
He joined the 52nd Battalion in the field during July 1917 and went through the heavy fighting near Ypres, Belgium in late 1917. He was given nine days leave in Paris during January 1918.
The Germans launched a large attack in the vicinity of Dernancourt on the morning of 5 April 1918. They were able to breach a railway embankment by forcing their way under a bridge which was partially held by the 52nd Battalion. Brown was reported to have been in an advanced post in front of the railway archway with a Lewis Gun team. The post was bombed by the Germans early in the morning and the entire gun team was wounded during the heavy fighting. Brown was reported as wounded and missing after the action and no trace of him was ever found.