BROWN, William Harry
| Service Number: | 623 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 February 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 43rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Adelaide, South Australia, September 1878 |
| Home Town: | Qualco, Loxton Waikerie, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Marryatville Public School, Adelaide |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 18 May 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
St Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Feb 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 623, 43rd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 623, 43rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Afric embarkation_ship_number: A19 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, 623, 43rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Afric, Adelaide |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Adelaide Botanic High School
Private William Harry Brown, service number 623, son of Mr. George Brown, was born in Adelaide, South Australia. He attended Marryatville Public School before moving to Qualco, Loxton-Walkerie, South Australia where he was a single farmer. He was born sometime in September in 1878 (there is no record on this, this is based on his age when he enlisted into the military).
William had a fair complexion with blue eyes and auburn hair. He weighed 46 kg and stood at 5’1 ½, which was fairly short around the time as the average height for men at this time was 5’8. He was a Methodist and was single.
William enlisted in the Australian Military on the 17th of February 1916, when he was 37 years old and 6 months. He was assigned to the 43rd Battalion who embarked in June 1916 along with the 41st, 42nd and 44th battalion. They arrived briefly in Egypt before continuing on their journey to Britain for further training and arrived on the British West Front in December 1916. It was reported that shortly after, that William disobeyed order by arriving on the parade untidy i.e., unshaven. Then, February 13th, 1917, he neglected to the prejudice of good order by possessing a dirty rifle. Soon after, he detached from the military and then re-enlisted a month later, in June.
Private Brown was then admitted to the hospital with a gun shot wound (GSW) to the head when he was wounded in action (4/7/1917). After 4 days of recovery, he re-joined the 43rd battalion. In the same month, he detached for pigeon school and returned to the military 3 days later on the 26th of July.
A month later he was admitted to hospital sick, where he was examined by ADMS (Assistant Director Medical Services).
He left for England on leave and returned a month later on 13/2/18. Then on the 24th of April 1918, he was admitted to the hospital for the 2nd occasion with GSW - gunshot wounds - to the face, arms, and chest. He was then transferred to the Rouen, a hospital in France where he unfortunately passed away at 7:30 pm on the 28th of May 1918, due to the extremity of his injuries.
He was buried at the St Sever Cemetery Extension, in Haute-Normandie, France. In the last will and testament of Private William Harry Brown, he left his father (George Brown) the whole of his personal property, estates, and money. He stated that his father would be the executor of his will and direct his funeral. He also asked that all of his debt and testamentary expenses to be paid ‘as soon as conveniently may be after my decease’.
Information retrieved from National Archives Australia
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