Ronald James (Ron) BROWN

BROWN, Ronald James

Service Number: SX19418
Enlisted: 19 April 1943, Wayville, SA
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: Not yet discovered
Born: Norwood, South Australia, 30 July 1916
Home Town: Norwood (SA), South Australia
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Roof hand
Died: 21 September 1992, aged 76 years, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered
Cemetery: Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia
Acacia plot, Path H Grave 2371.
Memorials: City of Kensington & Norwood Honour Roll World War II Book and Case
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World War 2 Service

19 Apr 1943: Involvement Gunner, SX19418
19 Apr 1943: Enlisted Wayville, SA
19 Apr 1943: Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, SX19418
5 Oct 1945: Discharged
5 Oct 1945: Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, SX19418

Ronald James BROWN SX19418

Ron was born on the 30th July 1916 in Norwood to Alice May and Fred Brown. He had two younger brothers, Kenneth George (Ken) and Harry Desmond (Des). Ron was almost 20 when his 41-year-old father died in June ’36. Both Adelaide newspapers carried the notice that ‘BROWN.—On the 18th June, at Adelaide. Fred ("Nigger"), beloved husband of May Brown, of 12 Sheldon street, Norwood, and loving father of Ron, Ken and Des, aged 41 years.’
Post school, Ron became a roof hand and aged 21, married Rose Hannah in November ’37 with the two living in his hometown of Norwood. He was 26 when he enlisted to serve in WWII in April ’43. At that stage he and Rose had two children, Harold Brian aged 3 and Graham aged 1. (His younger brother, Harry had already enlisted on the 27th January 1941 as SX11079 and was briefly allocated to the 2/48th Battalion. Ken also had enlisted in September ’42 as SX22341.)
Ron’s early training was at Canungra, a rural timber-producing town on the outskirts of the Tamborine National Park, to the south-east of Queensland, now known as the Kokoda Barracks. This area was used to train troops for the tropical conditions of New Guinea. However soon after arriving, in the pre-summer months of October and November ‘43 Ron was diagnosed with scabies, then allergic dermatitis. By the end of November, he left Townsville with the 2/13th Battalion, arriving in New Guinea early the following month. Within a month he had developed an extremely high temperature called Pyrexia of Unknown Origin and was again hospitalised. On his recovery, he was then allocated to the 2/48th Battalion, where Harry was serving, for a month before returning to Australia via Brisbane. There he eventually took up the role of a Grade III Storemen until he was finally discharged in November ’45.
Aged 76, Ron died on the 21st September ’92. Rose lived for a further nine months and died on the 13th June ’93, aged 77. Both are remembered at Centennial Park Cemetery at Pasadena in Acacia plot, Path H Grave 2371.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes SX8133, 2/48th Battalion.

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