Wilfred Brown

War Service

Wilfred was one of the many thousands of young men who volunteered to join Kitchener’s Army, joining the 1st/4th Battalion King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, at Normanton in September 1914.
Training began at Doncaster, moving to Gainsborough in November 1914, before finally moving to York in February 1915. From there the battalion started the deployment to France, arriving in Le Havre and Boulogne on 13 April 1915 and joining the 148th Brigade, 49th (West Riding) Division.
They soon set to work repairing and rebuilding trenches and ferrying rations and supplies to the front lines. Almost every day casualties were sustained: from shells, bombs, machine guns, sniper fire and poisonous gas.
Whilst holding a section of the Ypres-Boesinghe line on 19 November 1915 a cloud of poisonous phosgene gas enveloped the area shortly after a report at 4.15am of a hissing noise coming from the direction of the German lines.
During the remainder of the day the enemy continued heavy bombing of the whole of the front line and support trenches. Whilst the relief of the battalion was taking place during the early evening, Wilfred’s battalion had to endure a further barrage of gas and artillery shells. The battalion’s casualties for that day were: 25 men died of gas poison, 6 killed in action, 150 wounded suffering the effects of gas.
Wilfred’s duties continued throughout the next year – in and out of the trenches, with the battalion suffering casualties daily.
In September of 1916, the battalion was holding the lines in Thiepval sector. The following are extracts from the official War Diaries:
“Thiepval Sector 11.9.16 Relieved 1 / 4 Y&L Front line trenches Thiepval area casualties 2 killed, 6 wounded.”
“12.9.16 Holding 1st line 4 killed
13.9.16 Still holding front line 2 killed, 2 wounded
14.9.16 Still holding front line 24 wounded
15.9.16 Still holding front line 2 killed, 1 wounded, 1 officer killed
16.9.16 Still holding front line 6 wounded
17.9.16 Still holding front line 2 killed, 10 wounded.”
Official records confirm that Private Wilfred Brown was killed in action on 17 September 1916. We can only assume that Wilfred was one of the casualties listed as “killed” in the battalion war diaries on that day.
Wilfred is buried in the Lonsdale Cemetery, Authuille, Picardie, France. Lonsdale Cemetery now contains 1,542 burials and commemorations of the First World War including the graves of 284 soldiers of the 49th (West Riding) Division, who fell in July 1916 – February 1917 and two German soldiers.

Family Life

Wildred was born in Altofts during 1893, the third child of Reuben and Elizabeth Brown. At the time of Wilfred’s birth his parents and two older siblings, Beatrice and George, were living at 9 Diamond Row, Altofts. During the next few years there were two more additions to the family: sisters Ada born in 1886 and Lily born in 1898. Sadly, also in 1898, Wilfred’s mother died leaving Reuben to care for a baby, four children and still go to work. What effect this dreadful event would have had on the family is hard to imagine. When Wildred was 12 years old Reuben married Annie Ellis and in 1905 Wildred’s stepbrother Sam was born.
The family home’s postal address in 1911 was now 77, Church Road, Altofts: this may have just been a change in the official postal address from Diamond Row. Wilfred had joined his father at the colliery working underground as a colliery horse keeper; his father was employed as a shaftman.

Lonsdale Cemetery