BROWN, John
| Service Number: | 4089 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 16 September 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | Australian Army Ordnance Corps |
| Born: | Ardrossan, Ayrshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, 19 March 1888 |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Shipwright |
| Died: | Natural causes (lung cancer), Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia, 24 September 1966, aged 78 years |
| Cemetery: |
Albany Creek Memorial Park-Cemetery & Crematorium, Queensland Specifically: John Brown was cremated: 26/09/1966; his ashes were spread in an area - now known as the "Palm Gardens" within the grounds of Albany Creek Memorial Park - Bridgeman Downs, Qld, Australia. |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 16 Sep 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4089, 25th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Mar 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4089, 25th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Commonwealth embarkation_ship_number: A73 public_note: '' | |
| 28 Mar 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 4089, 25th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Commonwealth, Brisbane | |
| 13 Apr 1920: | Discharged AIF WW1, Corporal, 4089, Australian Army Ordnance Corps |
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John Brown came to Australia from Greenock in Scotland to work as a shipwright in Brisbane in March 1914. He had followed his sister and brother in law. We do not know why he enlisted. He soon departed for France and was involved in the last battle at Pozierres. During the war he had some leave and returned to Scotland and married an old girlfriend he had left behind when he went to Australia. After the war they returned to Australia and settled briefly in Maryborough and then Brisbane. With the help of a War Service Loan he purchased a house at Norman Park next to his sister and continued to gain work in the ship building trade. During the Great Depression he did carpentry work on the building of the Brisbane City Hall. John was well known in his suburb as he was involved in the Norman Park Presbyterian Church. He and his wife Mary only had one child, a daughter. John died of lung cancer in 1966.
His daughter reports (she was 94 in 2015) that he spoke little of the war but remembers he had many nightmares and would often wake up in a sweat. He had trouble with his foot from an early injury. One story she remembered was him saying they were in the trenches when a bloke lit a cigarette. The Germans threw a bomb at him and they were all blown off their feet.
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