BROWN, William
| Service Numbers: | 2347, 2879 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 May 1915, Liverpool, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
| Born: | Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia, 23 March 1894 |
| Home Town: | Austral, Liverpool, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Austral State School |
| Occupation: | Butcher |
| Died: | Killed In Action, Mouquet Farm, France, 3 September 1916, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 25 May 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2347, Liverpool, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 26 May 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2347, 2nd Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1 | |
| 14 Jul 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2347, 2nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Orsova embarkation_ship_number: A67 public_note: '' | |
| 29 Jul 1915: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 11th Infantry Battalion, For failing to re-embark at Fremantle, fined 28 days pay and confined to camp for 14 days. He was then transferred to the 11th Infantry Battalion with SERN 2879 | |
| 5 Oct 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2879, 11th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
| 28 Feb 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1) | |
| 24 Apr 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1) | |
| 26 Aug 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1) | |
| 3 Sep 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1), Mouquet Farm, Initially declared missing, then killed in action, 350 yards north-north-west of Mouquet Farm during an unsuccessful attack on the morning of 3rd September, 1916. |
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"2347 (later 2879) Private (later 2nd Lieutenant) William Brown MM, 2nd (later 11th and 51st) Battalion of Liverpool, NSW. A butcher prior to enlisting, he originally embarked from Sydney aboard HMAT Orsova (A67) on 14 July 1915. He failed to embark when the ship left Fremantle and was held in custody. Later, he embarked from Fremantle aboard HMAT Hororata (A20) on 5 October 1915. Lt Brown was killed in action on 3 September 1916 during an attack on Mouquet Farm, France, aged 22. He has no known grave and is remembered with honour on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, France. For bravery and coolness near Mouquet Farm during night attacks on 14 August 1916 to 16 August 1916, he was recommended for an award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal. The award of a Military Medal for bravery at Mouquet Farm was gazetted on 16 November 1916." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)
Recommended for the Distinguished Conduct Medal (www.awm.gov.au) but ultimately awarded the Military Medal (www.awm.gov.au) posthumously.
Citation;
"for bravery and coolness during the action at Mouquet Farm on 14-15 August, 1916. "He organised and linked up parties to dig in and held them there by dint of cheerful example. He also assisted in getting wounded into safety and bandaged up one officer while under heavy machine gun fire"
Son of William and Ellen Brown
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