Part 30

=HURST-BROWN, DUDLEY=, 2nd Lieut., R.F.A., yst. _s._ of W. Hurst-Brown, of Hurstbourne, 62, Oxford Gardens, W.; _b._ 8 June, 1897; educ. at Cardwallis, Maidenhead, and Winchester, where he was in the O.T.C. It had been intended that he should proceed to Oxford in the autumn, but war breaking out in the interval, he offered his services and received his commission in the Special Reserve on 11 Aug. 1914. He was at the Front five months, during which time he went through some of the most severe fighting, but escaped injury until receiving his fatal wounds in action in Flanders, 15 June, 1915. He died the same day; _unm._ In a letter received the day before his death he stated how glad he was he went to the Front, although the fighting was becoming something frightful, and that he saw but little chance as a junior officer of ever getting safely home again, and concluded the letter with the famous Latin epitaph of Horace, “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.”

=BROWN, JAMES=, Stoker, 1st Class (R.F.R., B. 8655), S.S. 105081, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BROWN, JAMES=, Stoker, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=BROWN, JAMES CARTMELL DENNISON=, 2nd Lieut., 5th Battn. Durham L.I. (T.F.), yr. _s._ of Sir Frank Brown, of Norton Priory, Stockton-on-Tees, D.L., by his wife, Charlotte, dau. of John Hedley, of South Hetton, co. Durham; _b._ Stockton-on-Tees, 2 Sept. 1893; educ. Rugby (1907), and Pembroke College, Cambridge (1912). On the outbreak of war he at once applied for a commission, and was gazetted 2nd Lieut. to the Durham L.I., 28 Aug. 1914. He went to France on 17 April, 1915, for divisional training, but consequent on the German attack with asphixiating gas his division was at once pushed to the front and engaged, and took part in the fighting around Ypres, 23 and 25 April, 1915. On Sunday, 25 April, he was wounded twice. He was first treated at Poperinghe Hospital, then removed to Hazebrouck, where he died on 27 April, 1915. His Colonel wrote: “He was one of the best officers we had, and did his duty to the last. On the day he was hit he had done valuable reconnaissance work in the morning, and, when hit, had taken part in a very good little attack. Although wounded in two places, he showed his pluck by returning unhelped to our lines. It is only by such examples as this that we may hope to conquer the enemy and keep up the tradition of the country.” A brother officer also wrote: “We all liked him very much, he was such a cheerful fellow, and so conscientious that I knew that anything entrusted to him, however slight or wearisome, would be properly carried out.” The Medical wrote: “He was a tremendous favourite with us all, and I can say I never had to attend to a pluckier lad.” His elder brother, Lieut. Frank D. Brown, of the same battn., was wounded near Ypres in May, 1915, and is again (1916) on active service.

=BROWN, JOHN ALEXANDER=, Rifleman, No. 3215, 17th Battn. (Poplar and Stepney Rifles) The London Regt. (T.F.), _s._ of William Brown, Corpl., A Coy. 1st Battn. (London Irish) The London Regt. (with 28 years’ service), by his wife, Sarah; _b._ Old Street, Shoreditch, 10 April, 1876; educ. St. John’s Road Higher Grade School there; served 12 years with the London Irish, and after the outbreak of war joined the Poplar and Stepney Rifles, 10 Sept. 1914; was wounded at the Battle of Loos, 25 Sept. 1915, and died in King George’s Hospital, Stamford Street, 21 Nov. following. He _m._ at Hoxton, 4 Jan. 1897, Alice Rosina (18, Hemsworth Street, Hoxton), dau. of John Brown, and had seven children: John Alexander, _b._ 2 Aug. 1902; George Arthur, _b._ 22 March, 1905; William Charles Joseph, _b._ 3 April, 1907; Alice Rosina, _b._ 23 July, 1897; Minnie, _b._ 18 Sept. 1900; Florence Marion, _b._ 22 Sept. 1910; and Blanche Mabel, _b._ 16 Sept. 1912.

=BROWN, JOHN EDWARD GUY=, Lieut., 1st Battn. The Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regt., yst. _s._ of Alexander Francis Garden Brown, of Magonet-Stoke Gabriel, co. Devon, by his wife, Charlotte Mary, dau. of James William Alston, of Stockbriggs, co. Lanark; _b._ Swindrigemuir, co. Ayr, 28 Aug. 1892, and was educ. at Bradfield College. He received his commission in the 2nd Battn. of the Royal West Kent Regt., then in India, on 20 Sept. 1911, when just 19. Having been applied for in 1913, as an officer for the 64th Pioneers by the Commandant, he successfully passed two examinations in Indian languages, winning thereby a substantial prize given by the Indian Government, and intended to pass the final in the autumn of 1914. He became Lieut. on 1 July, 1914, and was at home on leave when war broke out. He was then attached on its formation to the 6th Service Battn. of the Royal West Kents in the new army. In Oct. 1914, in consequence of the heavy losses sustained by the 1st Battn. in the Battle of Ypres, he was sent out to join it, but by an error in the Army List copied in the newspaper accounts he was given as attached to the Royal Berkshire Regt. On leaving the 6th Battn. his commanding officer wrote: “I am very sorry to lose your son; he did very good work while with my battn. and I can ill afford to lose him. However, his work will bear its fruit in the future.” He spent the winter in the trenches between Messines and Zillebeke and went through some heavy fighting in Nov. when the battn. lost so many officers, that he, though a junior, had to act as company commander during the months of Dec. and Jan. During this time in the trenches he passed a course of instruction under the R.E. officer attached to the battn. which qualified him as a regimental scout and bomb officer, a post he held at the time of his death. He was killed in action at Hill 60, near Zillebeke, Flanders. 22 Feb. 1915; _unm._ His commanding officer, Col. P. M. Robinson, wrote: “I regret your son’s death immensely, he was a gallant man and a good officer, always ready to do rather than to talk. He had won my admiration on several occasions during the time I have been commanding this battn., and I had a very high opinion of him. I much regret his career has been cut short”; and Capt. Molony (who joined the battn. in Feb. from the reserve of officers): “During the short time I knew your son I acquired a very real respect and a great liking for him. This being my first experience of trench work, he really commanded the company, while I watched his methods and learnt from him. I was very much struck by his thorough efficiency as well as his imperturbable courage. Having left the Army nearly eight years ago and never before having been in action, I badly wanted someone to put me in the way of it. No one could have done it more thoroughly and at the same time tactfully than your son. During this time he was offered and accepted the very honourable, but at the same time dangerous position of battn. scout officer. I did not like it much because it would mean that I should very often be deprived of his assistance, but I heard the commanding officer, when discussing his suitableness, say among other things ‘He is as brave as a lion.’ He is a great loss to the regt. and his qualities would have carried him very far in his profession had he been spared. I hope it will be some consolation to you to know that he did not suffer. When I heard he was hit I went to him at once. He was quite unconscious, and remained so until he died, perhaps some two minutes later.” Speaking of his death, the Adjutant said: “He was setting a splendid example, and, regardless of danger, was walking about laughing at the bombs, and greatly encouraging his men by his behaviour.”

=BROWN, JOHN SAMUEL=, Chief Armourer, 341170, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BROWN, JOHN SAMUEL=, A.B., 201534 (Chat.), H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in the action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=BROWN, NORMAN=, Private, No. 12/1569, 15th North Auckland Infantry, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, _s._ of Arthur Brown, formerly of co. Down, Ireland, by his wife, Mary (44, Springfield Road, Christchurch, New Zealand), dau. of Abernethy Patterson; _b._ Christchurch, New Zealand, March, 1881; educ. St. Alban’s School, Christchurch; volunteered Dec. 1914, and died of wounds at Gaba Tepe, 11 May, 1915; _unm._

=BROWN, NORMAN McLEOD=, Sergt., No. 1057, 1/14th Battn. (London Scottish) The London Regt. (T.F.), _s._ of Robert Brown, of Kirkcaldy, co. Fife, Draper, by his wife, Mary Davidson, dau. of David Findlay; _b._ Kirkcaldy, 16 Nov. 1888; educ. High School there; entered the Civil Service and received an appointment in the India Office, where he was engaged till he volunteered for foreign service on the outbreak of war. He had been a member of the London Scottish for some seven years, went to France with them as a corpl., was promoted Sergt. at the Front, and at the time of his death had been recommended for a commission. He was shot in the trenches at Givenchy by a sniper, 24 Dec. 1914, and was buried in the cemetery there; _unm._

=BROWN, OSCAR=, Lieut., 7th Lancers, Indian Army, attd. 4th Dragoon Guards, 8th _s._ of the late William Hooper Masters Brown, of Highfield House, Sherborne, co. Dorset, by his wife, Mary, dau. of William James, of Pembroke, _b._ Sherborne, 20 May, 1888; educ. Sherborne School, and Sandhurst; gazetted to the 48th Northamptonshire Regt. 19 Sept. 1908, and promoted Lieut. 7 May, 1910. In Sept. 1912 he exchanged into the Indian Army, and joined the 7th (Hariana) Lancers. While riding for the Delhi Cup in 1913 his horse fell and injured him to such an extent that he was invalided home, and on the outbreak of the war, being still in England, he was attached to the 4th Dragoon Guards, going to France with them in Sept. 1914. He was killed in action by a shell at Ypres, 24 April, 1915, and was buried at Elverdinghe; _unm._

=BROWN, PHILIP GEORGE MORTIMER=, Private, No. 9704, 5th Battn. (London Rifle Brigade) The London Regt. (T.F.), only _s._ of the late Frederick Robert Brown, Solicitor, by his wife, Emily Louisa (Thirlmere, Dukesthorpe Road, Sydenham, S.E.), dau. of George Phillips, of Beckenham, _b._ Sundridge Park, co. Kent, 15 Oct. 1896; educ. The Hall, Sydenham Preparatory School, and Dulwich College. He joined the London Rifle Brigade early in 1914, and on the outbreak of war was with his regt. at Eastbourne for the midsummer manœuvres. Volunteering for foreign service, he left with his regt. for France early in Nov. 1914, and was killed in action at Ypres, 3 May, 1915; _unm._ His commanding officer wrote: “He died doing his duty to the last, and was buried the same night. After he was slightly wounded himself, he spent all his time attending to other wounded friends, and it was whilst performing this duty that he was killed.”

=BROWN, WALTER GILBERT=, Seaman, R.N.R., 13630, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BROWN= (_alias_ =BROWNING=), =WILLIAM=, Stoker, 1st Class (N.C.S.), 298889, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=WREFORD-BROWN, CLAUDE, D.S.O.=, Capt., 2nd Battn. 5th Northumberland Fusiliers (T.F.), 5th _s._ of the late William Wreford-Brown, by his wife, Clara Jane (5, Litfield Place, Clifton, Bristol), dau. of Henry Clark, M.D.; _b._ Clifton, 17 Feb. 1876: educ. Waynflete, Durdham Downs; Wells House, Malvern Wells; and Charterhouse. After serving in the Royal Warwickshire Militia, he obtained his commission as 2nd Lieut. in the 1st Battn. of the “Fighting Fifth,” 15 May, 1897, being promoted Lieut. 24 Nov. 1899, and Capt. 15 April, 1901. In 1898 he took part in the Soudan Campaign under Lord Kitchener, being present at the Battle of Omdurman and the capture of Khartoum (Queen’s medal and Egyptian medal with clasp). He was employed in the occupation of Crete in 1898, and then, under Lord Methuen, served throughout the South African War, 1899–1902. He took part in the advance on Kimberley, including the actions at Belmont, Enslin, Modder River and Magersfontein. Afterwards he took part in the operations in the Orange Free State (March-May, 1900) and in the Transvaal (July-Nov. 1900), including actions at Venterskroom and Rhenoster River. Twice mentioned in Despatches [London Gazette, 9 July and 10 Sept. 1901], he received the D.S.O. for his services at Lichtenburg and the Queen’s medal with four clasps and the King’s medal with two clasps. He was selected to represent his regt. at the Coronation of King Edward VII. In April, 1908, he was on the North-West Frontier of India, and while serving in the Mohmand Campaign was seriously wounded. On 4 Sept. 1912. he was appointed an instructor at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, which post he filled until 17 Feb. 1915, when he joined the 2nd Battn. of his regt., then in France. Capt. Wreford-Brown was killed on the Menin Road, south of Ypres, 200 yards east of Wieltje Farm, north of Hooge, on Whit Monday, 24 May, 1915; unm. His regt. had been practically wiped out on the 13th, and when he heard of this he insisted on leaving Boulogne, where he was in hospital, and going back to reform the regt. He arrived at headquarters west of Ypres, Friday, 21 May, and there found 85 worn-out men of his battn., and about 450 of the 5th Fusiliers and Durham L.I., and 15 officers, a new draft which had just arrived, all from the same depôt. These he formed into a battn., and on Sunday, 23 May, was ordered to join the Brigade--only two clear days to form a new regt.! They marched between 15 and 29 miles on a sweltering hot day, losing several men on the way under shell fire. They arrived at Menin Road on Monday (Empire Day) the 24th; and were ordered out into support at 6 a.m. Wreford-Brown was commanding. At about 1 p.m. he received orders to advance to a certain point and attack a position which was allotted to him. The battn. shortly after leaving its support position came under heavy fire, and for a distance of two and a-half miles across country of open fields of buttercups, was continually under high explosive fire and shrapnel, machine and rifle fire. The regt. was formed up for the attack on the ridge which they took, but with very heavy casualties. Ten of the officers were wounded in this, leaving Wreford-Brown and two lieutenants. These and the remaining men dug themselves in, and on getting to the ridge they found the Germans very strong in a farm called Wieltje: it looked as if the Germans were on three sides of them. The regt. on the right could not be found, and two companies of the 5th were taking on three miles of Germans. At 7 p.m. he sent word as to his position and the heavy casualties. The answer came back: “You must try and take it and hold it at all costs.” One of the captains in the firing line who was wounded and lying in a ditch reports that Wreford-Brown told him to go back to hospital, and congratulated him on getting back to England wounded, and said: “Good-bye, old fellow, I shall not see you again. I am ordered to attack the place, it is hopeless, but I shall lead my men to it”; and with that he turned to his men and called for a rifle and bayonet and said: “Now we will make the final charge of the Mohicans,” which he did, leading the men. The Germans had 20 to 25 machine guns concentrated on them: Wreford-Brown fell 10 yards from the German trench mortally wounded. The remaining Lieut. reformed for a second attack and got wounded; the remaining few retired back to the trench behind the hedge, which they had dug after gaining the ridge. Only one officer got back safely, and he was with the machine gun a long way behind, which did not come into action. The regt. on the right had been delayed and came up afterwards. In the opinion of all he was shot several times and was certainly killed. Several attempts were made to recover his body, but it lay between two trenches of the Germans, and it was impossible owing to their withering fire. The Commander-in-Chief came round himself and thanked the survivors for their bravery. His brother officers bore general testimony to his capability and great courage. His brother, Capt. O. E. Wreford-Brown, died 7 July, 1916, of wounds received in action on the Somme.

=BROWNE, ARTHUR GEORGE=, 2nd Lieut., 2nd Battn. Notts. and Derbyshire Regt. (Sherwood Foresters), _s._ of the late John Barrett Browne, Bandmaster 2nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers, by his wife, Isabella Helen, dau. of the late Hon. Capt. A. J. White, Indian A.C. Dept.; _b._ Mount Abu, India, 2 Sept. 1889; educ. Laurence Military Asylum, Sanawar, India; joined the Army 2nd Sept. 1903, at the age of 14, and served in the band of the 1st Battn. of the Gloucestershire Regt. for eight years, when he became an N.C.O., and joined the ranks, later becoming Sergt. He received his commission for “services in the field,” 1 Oct. 1914, and was transferred to the Notts. and Derbyshire Regt. He was killed in action near Armentières, 20 Oct. 1914; _unm._

=BROWNE, GORDON STEWART=, Capt. and Adjutant, 1st Battn. Wiltshire Regt., 4th _s._ of Henry John Browne, of Grosvenor House, Faversham and Chatham, Merchant, by his wife, Emily Martha, dau. of George William Gill, of Rochester; _b._ Chatham, 15 May, 1890; educ. Haileybury and Sandhurst; gazetted to the Wiltshire Regt. 18 Sept. 1909; promoted Lieut. 26 Jan. 1911, and Capt. 25 Oct. 1914. He went to France with the Expeditionary Force, and was wounded at Caudry on the fourth day of the retreat from Mons, but recovered and returned to the Front. On 17 Nov. he was badly wounded during the fighting at Hooge and died at the Allied Forces Base Hospital, Boulogne, 27 Nov. 1914. His body was brought home and buried at St. Margaret’s Cemetery, Rochester. Capt. Browne, who was _unm._, was mentioned in F.M. Sir John French’s Despatch of 14 Jan. 1915 for “gallant and distinguished service in the field.”

=BROWNE, HAROLD VERNON=, Capt., Queen’s Own Dorset Yeomanry, yr. _s._ of Leonard Gilbert Browne, of Hoburne, Christchurch, co. Hants, formerly of Buckland Park, South Australia, by his wife, Helen Mary, dau. of Henry Strong Brice; _b._ Buckland Park, 25 Aug. 1885; educ. Hazlewood, Limpsfield and Wellington College. He resided from 1909–14 at Cheriton Manor, Templecombe, and after that at Preston House, Iwerne Minster. In 1908 he joined the Dorsetshire Yeomanry and became Lieut. 4 Oct. 1913, and Capt. July, 1915. On the outbreak of the war he volunteered for foreign service, and was sent on special service in July, 1915, from Egypt to Gallipoli, and was military landing officer at Suvla Bay all through the August landing. He was killed by a shell on the beach while doing his work of landing troops, 7 Sept. 1915, and was buried there. His commanding officer at Suvla Bay wrote: “I, like all who came in contact with him, had learnt to be very fond of and admire him. He was a splendid man and a brave soldier, who did not seem to know such a thing as fear or danger, and he met his death, I think and trust, a painless one, when nobly doing his duty, and actually giving an order in connection with it. He was a true and good soldier and died a soldier’s death.” He was a very fine all-round athlete, he played in the school cricket eleven at Wellington, and afterwards for Dorset County, was a first-class golfer and lawn tennis player, hunted regularly with the Blackmore Vale Hounds, and rode in many point-to-point races and steeplechases. Capt. Browne _m._ at St. Peter’s, Eton Square, 24 June, 1908, Doris (Preston House, Iwerne Minster, Blandford), elder dau. of John Tillard, of Blakeney, co. Norfolk, and had three sons and one dau.: Anthony Harold Scott, _b._ 21 April, 1909; Peter Francis William, _b._ 1 Jan. 1912; Nigel Philip, _b._ 20 Jan. 1913; and Ursula Patricia, _b._ 24 Nov. 1915.

=COLLIS-BROWNE, ALFRED ULICK=, Lieut., 1st. Battn. King’s Own Yorkshire L.I., yst. _s._ of William Alfred Collis-Browne, of Monteagle, Godalming, Major (ret.) 5th Battn. Rifle Brigade; _b._ Byfleet, co. Surrey, 13 June 1889; educ. Killcott, Godalming; represented the R.M.A. at Association Football, 1908; joined the Yorkshire L.I. in South Africa, 1910, and was promoted Lieut. 27 July, 1914. On the outbreak of war he proceeded with his regt. to the Front, was appointed Machine Gun Officer, and was killed in action whilst making a reconnaissance of a trench at Ypres, 13 April, 1915. He was buried at Zonnebeke, near Ypres; _unm._ The Adjutant of his battn. wrote: “He was one of the pluckiest fellows I ever knew. Only a fortnight ago, in an action we had, the captain in the trenches reported how splendidly he worked his guns, and the good effect it had on his men, by whom he was greatly beloved.” He was mentioned in F M. Sir John French’s Despatch of 31 May [London Gazette, 22 June], 1915.

=BROWNING, FRANK HERBERT=, Stoker, 1st Class, K. 10905, H.M.S. Cressy; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BROWNING, JAMES ALEXANDER=, Major, 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen’s Bays), yr. _s._ of Edward Campbell Browning, of Rushden House, co. Northants, by his wife, Alice Louisa, dau. of C. Pratt Barlow; _b._ Onslow Square, London, 25 June, 1878; educ. Eton and Sandhurst; obtained his commission, 11 May, 1898, and was promoted Lieut. 16 Aug. 1899; Capt. 14 Sept. 1901, and Major 5 July, 1911. From 1906–09 he acted as Adjutant to the Queen’s Bays and was A.D.C. to the Inspector-Gen. of Cavalry in the early stages of the South African War, and in 1901–02 he took part in the operations in the Orange River Colony, the Transvaal and Cape Colony, for which he received the Queen’s medal with five clasps. On the outbreak of the European War he went to France with the Expeditionary Force, and was killed by a shell at Messines, 31 Oct. 1914, while in command of his regt. He was buried at Wulverghem, and was mentioned in F.M. Sir John French’s Despatches [London Gazette, 22 June, 1915], for gallant and distinguished service in the field. Capt. Browning _m._ at St. Mary’s Church, Higham Ferrers, co. Northants, 21 March, 1903, Lilian Brenda (Stonycroft, Aldershot), only dau. of Capt. Basil John Fisher, U.S.A., and had two sons: Geoffrey Alexander, _b._ 21 March, 1907; and Peter Campbell, _b._ 18 March, 1910.

=BROWNLEE, JAMES ALEXANDER=, Petty Officer (N.S.), 185918, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BROWNLOW, MARK=, E.R.A., 2nd Class, 271387, H.M.S. Good Hope; lost in action off Coronel, on the coast of Chili, 1 Nov. 1914.

=BROYD, ERNEST JOHN=, A.B. (R.F.R., B. 9569), 203287, H.M.S. Aboukir; lost in action in the North Sea, 22 Sept. 1914.

=BRUCE, ALFRED=, Private, No. 1239, 1/4th Battn. King’s Own Yorkshire L.I. (T.F.), 2nd _s._ of the late William Bruce, by his wife, Alice Annie (40, Chatsworth Place, Harrogate); _b._ Aldboro’, Borobridge, co. York, 17 May, 1893; educ. Grove Road Board School, and Technical School, Harrogate; entered the service of the Educational Offices, Wakefield, where he was on the permanent clerical staff, but after the outbreak of war enlisted in Sept. 1914. and was accidentally drowned with six other soldiers at Gainsborough in a pontoon accident, 19 Feb. 1915; _unm._ He won the West Riding County Minor Scholarship in May, 1904, and passed the Oxford Junior Examination at the age of 14.