Pte 17172 George Douglas Brown

He was transferred to 32nd Signalling Company, Royal Engineers, at Buxton, from 19th May 1915, as Pte. 71248 and on 27th June 1915 was posted to 41st Signalling Company. He failed his trade test and on 27th July 1915 was transferred back to the 18th Bn K.L.R.

 

George shipped to France with his battalion, disembarking at Boulogne on 07th November 1915.

 

He received a Good Conduct Badge on completion of two years’ service, on 02/9/1916.

He went to F.A. on 27/10/1916 with Colic.

He spent his last Christmas at home, on leave to the U.K. from 22/12/1916 until 04/1/1917.

 

He went to a Field Ambulance from 27th March 1917 until resuming duty on 30th March 1917, no reason specified. 

 

He was initially declared Missing on 9th April 1917, but was apparently found and declared killed in action the same day.  

Arras 09^th April 1917

Details of the circumstances the18^th Battalion had to contend with are illustrated below:

The battalion formed the left assaulting battalion of the brigade, the 2^nd Wiltshire Regiment being on the right, the 19^th Manchester Regiment being in support and 2^nd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment furnishing “moppers -up”  for the two assaulting battalions. The brigade advance was timed to begin at ---- hour after “Zero”, suited to conform with the movements of 56^th Division and other divisions on our left further north (near Arras). This battalion’s objective was the front-line system Lion Lane on the left (exclusive) to Panther Lane on right (exclusive). This sector included the strongpoint known as “The Egg”.

The brigade advanced at prearranged time, i.e., 11.38 a.m, from position of assembly trenches south of Neuville Vitasse to German front line. This necessitated an advance across the open of at least 2,000 yards. This area up to Neuville Vitasse- Henin road was crossed in artillery formation; after this, owing to machine-gun fire and considerable resistance from German posts forward in the sunken roads, it was found necessary to deploy. During the whole movement across the open the advancing columns had been under considerable artillery fire from guns of all calibres. On gaining the position immediately in front of German line it was found that the wire was practically uncut; this wire formed two strong belts in front of German trenches. Two small gaps were eventually discovered and Second-Lieut H.F.Merry gallantly led a bombing party through them, but his three remaining men were killed as they reached the German trenches.

From the moment the battalion was “held up” in front of German wire Capt. R. W. Jones, the senior company commander on the spot, at once began the work of consolidating in front of German wire. The battalion held on in this position for the remainder of the day, until relieved by the 16^th Manchester Regiment about 3 a.m. on the 10^th of April, all the time under intense machine-gun and rifle fire.

Between 9th-10th April, 1917, the 18th King's lost 2 officers 2nd Lt. F. Ashcroft and 2nd Lt. H.G. Ewing and 59 other ranks killed. 8 other officers were wounded.  

He was buried in Neuville Vitasse British Military Cemetery.  A Special Kipling Memorial was erected in London Cemetery.

Neuville-Vitasse was attacked by the 56th (London) Division on 7 April 1917 and captured by the same Division on 9 April. The village was almost entirely lost at the end of March 1918 but regained at the end of the following August. It was later "adopted" by the Metropolitan Borough of Paddington. The London Cemetery was made by the 56th Division in April 1917 and greatly extended after the Armistice when graves were brought in from other burial grounds and from the battlefields between Arras, Vis-en-Artois and Croisilles. London Cemetery contains 747 burials and commemorations of the First World War. 318 of the burials are unidentified and on a screen wall are panels bearing the names of casualties buried in the following four cemeteries, whose graves were destroyed by shell fire:- WANCOURT ROAD CEMETERY No.2, just East of NEUVILLE-VITASSE; NEUVILLE0-VITASSE MILL CEMETERY, close to a German strong point on the road to Mercatel; BEAURAINS ROAD CEMETERY No.2, just North-West of NEUVILLE-VITASSE; BEAURAINS GERMAN CEMETERY; and ERCHIN GERMAN CEMETERY (Nord). The cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

 

His death was reported in the Liverpool Echo on 16th May 1917:

BROWN - April 9 ,killed in action, aged 19 years, George Douglas, King's Liverpool Regiment, beloved fifth son of Joseph James and Eleanor Brown of 154 Queens Road, Everton, Liverpool.

His name was published in the list of K.L.R. killed in the Liverpool Daily Post on 26th May 1917.

 

George earned his three medals.  His father received George’s Memorial Plaque and Scroll, as well as his Army effects, including a War Gratuity of £12.

 

His brother Charles Ernest, serving with the 1st/4th King’s Shropshire Light Infantry died of wounds on 24th March 1918, also aged 19.  He rests in St. Hilaire Cemetery, Frevant, (28 miles away from his brother), where his headstone bears the epitaph:

“He Died That England May Live. Never Forgotten”.

 

The pension card shows that his parents, living in Queen’s Road, later 46 Moscow Drive Stoneycroft, received a pension for both their sons.

 

His father died in 1929 aged 67, and his mother in 1930 aged 65.