Walter Ernest Brown
Corporal, 20th Battalion (N S W) Australian Imperial Force
- Register No.
- 134 (Alf's numbering, from The Register of the Victoria Cross, 1997)
- Rank
- Corporal all Corporals →
- Unit
- 20th Battalion (N S W) Australian Imperial Force (register: 20th Battalion, AIF) all AIF VCs →
- Date of action
- 6 July 1918 on this day → all of 1918 →
- Conflict / campaign
- First World War
- London Gazette
- 17th August 1918 on this day → all of 1918 →
- Born
- 2nd July 1885 at New Norfolk, Tasmania
- Died
- 28th February 1942 in Malaya
- Memorial / grave
- Singapore memorial and the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, Australia
- Medal held by
- the Australian War Memorial, Canberra,Australia
Digest of citation
On 6th July 1918 at Villers-Bretonneux, France, on his own initiative, Corporal Brown rushed a machine-gun post, which had been causing great inconvenience by persistent sniping. Despite being fired on by another machine gun, he continued to his objective and with a Mills grenade in his hand, he stood at the door of the dug-out and called on the occupants to surrender. One of the enemy rushed out and scuffled with him, but was knocked down by the corporal's fist. One officer and 11 men then surrendered and he brought them back as prisoners, again under heavy machine-gun fire
From Alf Askin's research notes
Reproduced as Alf wrote it, c. 2000–2005. Spelling and abbreviations are his own.
BROWN, Walter Ernest. (reg No. 134).
Corporal 20th Battalion (N S W) Australian Imperial Force.
London Gazetted on 17th August 1918.
VC Medal's Custodian is the Australian War Memorial, Canberra,Australia.
Born on 2nd July 1885 at New Norfolk, Tasmania.
Died on 28th February 1942 in Malaya.
Memorial at Singapore memorial and the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, Australia.
Digest of Citation reads: On 6th July 1918 at Villers-Bretonneux, France, on his own initiative, Corporal Brown rushed a machine-gun post, which had been causing great inconvenience by persistent sniping. Despite being fired on by another machine gun, he continued to his objective and with a Mills grenade in his hand, he stood at the door of the dug-out and called on the occupants to surrender. One of the enemy rushed out and scuffled with him, but was knocked down by the corporal's fist. One officer and 11 men then surrendered and he brought them back as prisoners, again under heavy machine-gun fire.
Additional information: Sergeant Brown also holds the Distinguished Conduct Medal and Bar. (D C M). He served with the Royal Australian Artillery in the Second World War.
Additional information
Sergeant Brown also holds the Distinguished Conduct Medal and Bar. (D C M). He served with the Royal Australian Artillery in the Second World War.
Visit the grave or memorial
Alf recorded the memorial as: Singapore memorial and the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, Australia
Map links open a search for the place name Alf recorded; please check opening times and exact locations before travelling. Many VC graves have since been restored by the Victoria Cross Trust.
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