BROWN, John Lawrence
| Service Number: | 3729 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 5th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Tarnagulla, Victoria, Australia, March 1886 |
| Home Town: | South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Grocer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 25 July 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
Pozières British Cemetery Plot III, Row O, Grave 17, |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Jul 1915: | Enlisted | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3729, 5th Infantry Battalion, 2 yrs Rifle Club, Maryborough | |
| 23 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 3729, 5th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
| 23 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 3729, 5th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ceramic, Melbourne |
Help us honour John Lawrence Brown's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From David Ellis
105 years ago today the battle at Pozières in France was raging with the AIF heavily involved.
Pte John (Jack) Brown of the 5th Battalion AIF was in the thick of this fighting and sadly was killed in action, unlike many soldiers who were wounded, killed or posted as missing in action there is no Red Cross statement on file as to how he met his fate.
In the pictures attached you will see the field in which Jack was exhumed from (and believed to have died in), the trench map of this area (dated 08/08/1916, this date will come up again), the record of his exhumation by the Canandian War Graves Unit and his final resting place in the Pozières British Cemetery.
Cpl Thomas Ellis (another relation of David Ellis) of the 7th Battalion AIF was also involved in battle on this day and was wounded in the shoulder. A letter he wrote home, which was then published in a local newspaper is included here. "Jack Brown's sister is David Ellis' paternal Grand Mother"
I have always been intrigued at the tone of his letter (see documents) it is quite different to how we think the men must of felt after the sights, sounds and smells they endured. I assume it is was intended to cheer up his family back home in Western Victoria as by this time there were three Ellis brothers (Thomas, Percy and Abel) in France and another (Bill) at Broadmeadows camp.
This wound kept Tom in England until 1917 when he returned to his unit and fought right through to the end of the war. He was again wounded in action at Lihon Wood in 1918. After the war he was active in the 7th Battalion Association. He passed in 1951.
As many who become involved in researching family history would know there are many coincidences in life. One that pertains to this story is that I have two sons....Jack and Tom, both were named before I knew anything of our family history.
Click images to start slideshow.