Contributed by Ron Inglis, October 2021:
Widower William Samuel Brown enlisted when he was 43 years of age and had three children, the eldest of which was only 8 years of age. Brown, a grocer, nominated his mother who lived in Dartbrook Road, Auburn, as his next-of-kin.
Enlisting in September 1916 at the RAS Showgrounds in Sydney, Brown embarked on the Ascanius in the following month. He arrived in Devonport, United Kingdom, on 28 December 1916. He was several months in training camps in England before he crossed to France and marched into the 17th Battalion on 19 March 1917.
Less than two months later, Brown was one of several Auburn Memorial men to go missing in the battles of Bullecourt in Northern France. It was not until November 1917, six months after the battle, that a Court of Inquiry found Brown was killed in action on 3 May 1917 and buried in the vicinity of Bullecourt. Brown’s grave was not found after the war. His name is inscribed on the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux.
On Brown's death, his mother was allocated a pension of 20 shillings per fortnight for each of his three daughters. In 1921, with his mother deceased and having no son, Brown's medals, scroll and plaque were allocated to the eldest daughter, Dorothy Alma Brown, now aged 13.
Brown L C and Brown W S on the Auburn War Memorial were not related.
William Brown is honoured on the following memorials in Australia:
- Auburn War Memorial
- Municipality of Auburn 1914-1919 Honour Roll
- Roll of Honour Australian War Memorial Canberra
His decorations:
- British War Medal
- 1914-20 Victory Medal
