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392:, France he performed the deed for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross: Brown had rushed a machine-gun post armed with a hand grenade, taking one officer and 11 men prisoner under heavy machine-gun fire. After this incident Brown remained at the front until the end of the war, and despite being wounded again in August he was promoted to
432:
persistent sniping. Hearing that it had been decided to rush this post, Corporal Brown, on his own initiative, crept out along the shallow trench and made a dash towards the post. An enemy machine gun opened fire from another trench and forced him to take cover. Later he again dashed forward and reached his objective. With a
501:
On 15 February 1942, Brown's regiment moved up to the front line to make a final stand. Sources disagree as to what happened to Brown after this. When the order to surrender came, some witnesses alleged him to have calmly picked up some grenades and said: "No surrender for me", before walking towards
485:
in June 1940. Hoping to avoid attention and wanting to secure a posting to the front lines, he declared that he had "no previous military experience" and also claimed he had been born in 1900 in order to meet the age requirements for front line service. Although his identity became public knowledge,
364:
He managed to secure his transfer to the infantry by claiming that he had lost his false teeth, which meant that he had to be removed from the theatre and returned to Egypt, where he was able to attach himself to the infantry reinforcements that were being concentrated there prior to being sent to
436:
in his hand he stood at the door of a dug-out and called on the occupants to surrender. One of the enemy rushed out, a scuffle ensued, and
Corporal Brown knocked him down with his fist. Loud cries of "Kamerad" were then heard, and from the dug-out an officer and eleven, other ranks appeared. This
431:
The company to which he was attached carried out during the night a minor operation resulting in the capture of a small system of enemy trench. Early on the following morning an enemy strong post about seventy. yards distant caused the occupants of the newly captured trench great inconvenience by
505:
Author John
Moremon, however, suggests, from records held at the Australian War Memorial, that Brown sought to escape and after gaining permission from his commanding officer, led a group of 2/15th men to Rengat, in Sumatra, in a rowing boat. From there it is believed that Brown and the others
304:
following the
Japanese invasion of Malaya, and retreated to Singapore. The garrison at Singapore surrendered on 15 February 1942. Brown is believed to have been killed subsequently, with his date of death given as 28 February 1942, although his body has never been recovered.
40:
280:
he single-handedly destroyed a German machine-gun post, taking a number of prisoners in the process. For this act he was awarded the
Victoria Cross. He was also later awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for a previous act of bravery.
506:
attempted to link up with other troops that were being evacuated via bus, but they became separated and although some managed to get away to Padang, Brown is believed to have been killed while waiting for transport.
1049:
368:
His transfer to the 20th
Battalion took place in July 1917 and he joined them while they were stationed in the line around St Omer. During September and October 1917, Brown took part in the fighting around
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1039:
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561:
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in Egypt. After being transferred to France he was assigned to the 55th
Battalion, Australian Infantry; 1st and 2nd Field Butcheries, Australian Service Corps; and then, finally, the
1054:
551:
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and taking up a position as a water-bailiff in the New South Wales Water
Conservation and Irrigation Commission. He remained in this job until he rejoined the Army in 1940.
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513:
officially records his date of death as 28 February 1942. As his body was never found, Brown has no known grave, although he is commemorated at the
Singapore Memorial at
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His
Majesty the KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned Non-commissioned Officers and Man: —
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233:
556:
437:
party
Corporal Brown brought back as prisoners to our line, the enemy meanwhile from other positions bringing heavy machine-gun fire to bear on the party.
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1024:
683:
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317:. His parents were Sidney Francis Brown—a miller—and Agnes Mary Brown (née Carney). After finishing his schooling, he worked as a grocer in
261:
450:. During this time he undertook a number of different lines of work, being employed as a brass-finisher up until 1930 when he moved to
428:
For most conspicuous bravery and determination when with an advanced party from his battalion which was going into the line in relief.
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381:. In November he was wounded, however, he returned to his unit shortly after and on 7 April 1918 he was promoted to the rank of
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Although his date of death is uncertain, it has been presumed that Brown was killed some time after he went missing, and the
399:
Following the war he was repatriated to Australia in late 1919 before being discharged on medical grounds in February 1920.
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Brown's service in World War II resulted in the posthumous award of five further service medals, these being the
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240:, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to members of the British and
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Following the war, Brown was repatriated to Australia and returned to civilian life. When the
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the military authorities allowed him to continue serving. He was briefly promoted to
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912:
A Bitter Fate: Australians in Malaya & Singapore, December 1941 – February 1942
671:
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began, he lied about his age and previous experience in order to re-enlist in the
168:
433:
785:
715:
994:
793:
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The award of the Victoria Cross to Brown was published in a supplement to
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and it was for his actions during this time that he was later awarded the
446:
After being discharged from the AIF in early 1920, Brown went to live in
393:
382:
269:
245:
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995:"Victoria Cross : Corporal Walter Ernest Brown, 20 Battalion, AIF"
490:, but requested to revert to the rank of gunner. His unit was sent to
447:
249:
79:
914:. Canberra: Department of Veterans' Affairs. pp. 115–116.
886:"NX35492 Walter Ernest Brown, Australian Army, service record"
498:, and then to Singapore in February 1942 when it was invaded.
457:
On 4 June 1932 Brown married Maude Dillon at Christ Church in
1050:
Australian recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal
260:. Initially he was sent to Egypt where he served in the
1045:
Australian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross
766:. Vol. 7. Canberra: National Centre of Biography,
425:
No. 1689A Corporal Walter Ernest Brown, D.C.M., A.I.F.
325:, where he remained in the same line of work until the
1040:
Australian military personnel killed in World War II
200:
132:
116:
106:
94:
86:
69:
49:
30:
461:. The couple had two children, a boy and a girl.
905:
903:
880:
878:
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494:in August 1941 where they were attached to the
415:
341:in July 1915 and was initially assigned to the
313:Walter Ernest Brown was born on 3 July 1885 in
844:(Supplement). 18 October 1918. p. 12386.
575:
572:
569:
232:(3 July 1885 – 28 February 1942) was an
8:
1055:Australian military personnel of World War I
869:(Supplement). 16 August 1918. p. 9659.
808:"Walter Ernest Brown – Discovering Anzacs"
38:
27:
1030:Australian Army personnel of World War II
502:the enemy lines, never to be seen again.
183:
19:For other people with the same name, see
751:
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939:"Casualty details—Brown, Walter Ernest"
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525:His Victoria Cross is displayed at the
276:. In July 1918, during the fighting at
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7:
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377:. On 19 October he was promoted to
365:France to join the 20th Battalion.
343:1st Australian Light Horse Regiment
256:in 1915, following the outbreak of
943:Commonwealth War Graves Commission
763:Australian Dictionary of Biography
758:"Brown, Walter Ernest (1885–1942)"
511:Commonwealth War Graves Commission
345:, before being transferred to the
14:
1060:Missing in action of World War II
684:Australia Service Medal 1939–1945
1025:Military personnel from Tasmania
888:. National Archives of Australia
649:
633:
617:
599:
581:
559:
554:
549:
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290:Second Australian Imperial Force
264:before being transferred to the
16:Recipient of the Victoria Cross
812:National Archives of Australia
768:Australian National University
696:List of people who disappeared
676:Defence Medal (United Kingdom)
469:Following the outbreak of the
418:War Office, 17th August, 1918.
1:
321:until 1911, when he moved to
413:on 17 August 1918, reading:
296:. In 1942 Brown's unit, the
607:Distinguished Conduct Medal
477:under his real name in the
375:Distinguished Conduct Medal
292:, this time serving in the
209:Distinguished Conduct Medal
1081:
483:Royal Australian Artillery
323:Petersham, New South Wales
294:Royal Australian Artillery
18:
339:Australian Imperial Force
37:
1035:Australian Army soldiers
262:Australian Service Corps
252:before enlisting in the
1065:People from New Norfolk
527:Australian War Memorial
403:Victoria Cross citation
268:where he served in the
244:forces. He was born in
155:German spring offensive
150:Battle of Passchendaele
910:Moremon, John (2002).
473:, Brown enlisted as a
439:
396:on 13 September 1918.
337:Brown enlisted in the
300:, participated in the
969:"Walter Ernest Brown"
716:"Walter Ernest Brown"
479:2/15th Field Regiment
315:New Norfolk, Tasmania
298:2/15th Field Regiment
107:Years of service
63:New Norfolk, Tasmania
770:. pp. 446–447.
347:Imperial Camel Corps
234:Australian recipient
756:White, K.R (1979).
680:War Medal 1939–1945
515:Kranji War Cemetery
217:Walter Ernest Brown
179:Battle of Singapore
82:, Dutch East Indies
44:Walter Ernest Brown
32:Walter Ernest Brown
866:The London Gazette
841:The London Gazette
410:The London Gazette
390:Villers-Bretonneux
388:On 6 July 1918 at
278:Villers-Bretonneux
975:. aif.adfa.edu.au
777:978-0-522-84459-7
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641:British War Medal
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471:Second World War
465:Second World War
302:Malayan campaign
286:Second World War
248:and worked as a
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174:Malayan campaign
164:Second World War
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73:28 February 1942
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973:The AIF Project
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254:Australian Army
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101:Australian Army
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612:gazetted 1918
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594:gazetted 1918
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589:Victoria Cross
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517:in Singapore.
488:lance-sergeant
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379:lance corporal
351:20th Battalion
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274:20th Battalion
238:Victoria Cross
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205:Victoria Cross
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77:(aged 56)
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657:Victory Medal
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371:Passchendaele
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977:. Retrieved
972:
946:. Retrieved
911:
890:. Retrieved
864:
839:
815:. Retrieved
802:
761:
710:
672:Pacific Star
665:
625:1914–15 Star
548:
536:
524:
508:
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496:27th Brigade
468:
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359:2nd Division
336:
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283:
242:Commonwealth
216:
215:
133:Battles/wars
75:(1942-02-28)
25:
21:Walter Brown
1020:1942 deaths
1015:1885 births
979:12 November
948:2 September
861:"No. 30849"
836:"No. 30961"
573:Description
355:5th Brigade
329:broke out.
169:Pacific War
65:, Australia
60:3 July 1885
1009:Categories
817:10 October
309:Early life
87:Allegiance
56:1885-07-03
786:1833-7538
272:with the
90:Australia
794:70677943
690:See also
531:Canberra
394:sergeant
383:corporal
270:infantry
246:Tasmania
121:Sergeant
95:Service/
236:of the
181: (
112:1940–42
110:1915–20
918:
892:25 May
792:
784:
774:
682:, and
576:Notes
570:Ribbon
521:Medals
492:Malaya
475:gunner
459:Bexley
452:Leeton
448:Sydney
319:Hobart
250:grocer
201:Awards
126:Gunner
97:branch
80:Rengat
702:Notes
609:(DCM)
227:
225:,
128:(WW2)
123:(WW1)
981:2012
950:2009
916:ISBN
894:2009
819:2014
790:OCLC
782:ISSN
772:ISBN
591:(VC)
117:Rank
70:Died
50:Born
529:in
229:DCM
184:MIA
1011::
971:.
958:^
941:.
930:^
902:^
875:^
863:.
850:^
838:.
827:^
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760:.
724:^
686:.
678:,
674:,
670:,
533:.
481:,
385:.
361:.
357:,
353:,
222:VC
219:,
997:.
983:.
952:.
924:.
896:.
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796:.
718:.
187:)
58:)
54:(
23:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
