Francis Charles Brown
Memorial: Thornbury - St Mary's Church
Regiment: Middlesex Regiment
Medals: British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Private TF/242337
Parents: James and Elizabeth Brown
Marital status: Married
Home address: St Mary Street, Thornbury, Bristol
Pre-war occupation: Coachman
Date of birth: 1887
Place of birth: Berkeley, Glos
Date of death: 16/08/1917
Buried/Commemorated at: Tyne Cot Memorial (Panel 113 to 115.), Belgium
Age: 30
Further information:
Bronze Tablet and Wooden Memorial Board
Francis Charles Brown, known as Frank, was baptised in Berkeley on 5th June 1887. He was the son of James Brown, a labourer, and his wife Elizabeth. Frank’s service record shows the Browns were ling in Black Hall, Berkeley. Black Hall is a small hamlet between Bevington and Ham. Francis’s father, James, died in 1892. The 1901 Census shows Frank living in Sibland, Thornbury. His mother had remarried, becoming the wife of George Barrett, a market gardener
On 3rd January 1914 Frank married Georgina Young in Wotton-under-Edge Parish Church. They had one daughter, Loraine Frances, born on 30th November 1914, when they were living at Wortley Road, Wotton-under-Edge
Frank enlisted in November 1915, giving his address as St Mary Street, Thornbury. When medically examined he was considered fit ‘for field service at home’ and was put into the Army Reserve. In May 1916 he was mobilised into the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex) Regiment. He was described as 5ft 6 ¾inches, 140 lbs and had a 37 inch chest with 3 inch expansion. He joined the 3rd/10th Battalion but transferred later to the 1st/8th Battalion.
Frank was sent to France and Flanders in November 1916. In August 1917 he was Killed in Action during the Battle of Langemarck, the second Allied general attack of the Third Battle of Ypres, an offensive was mounted by Commonwealth forces to divert German attention from a weakened French front further south. Both sides were hampered by terrible August rain, which had a greater effect on the British and French, who occupied lower-lying areas and were advancing onto ground which had been severely bombarded. The campaign finally came to a close in November with the capture of Passchendaele
Frank Brown has no known grave. The Tyne Cot Memorial is one of four memorials to the missing in Belgian Flanders which cover the area known as the Ypres Salient. Broadly speaking, the Salient stretched from Langemarck in the north to the northern edge in Ploegsteert Wood in the south, but it varied in area and shape throughout the war
In his will, which said he was of Uley, Gloucestershire, Frank left effects worth £166 12s 2d. His widow, who went to live in Dursley, was awarded a pension of 18 s 9d per week
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
Thornbury Roots Website: Thornbury and District Museum Research Group, Forces War Records and CWGC