Lance Corporal Alexander (Sandy) Brown

Lance Corporal Alexander (Sandy) Brown

5th (Service) Battalion Cameron Highlanders
Service No: S/10213

1696

0

2

0

61

Click here for a frameable A4 print

Personal details

Family Information

Son of William Ure Brown (11/04/1843 - 19/08/1903) and Jessie Wilson Kerr Brown (18/08/1860 - 04/09/1931) of 43 Whifflet St, Coatbridge. Alexander had 5 brothers also serving. They were Private William Kerr Brown (S/10239) of the 5th (Service) Battalion Cameron Highlanders who was Killed in Action on the opening day of the Battle of Loos on the 25/09/1915, Robert (Royal Garrison Artillery), Charles (Royal Garrison Artillery), Daniel (Royal Field Artillery) and Richard of the Royal Army Medical Corps who was awarded the French Croix de Guerre for distinguished conduct on the battlefield while acting as a stretcher bearer. He ended up being a prisoner of war in Germany. Alexander's brother-in-law Private William Cree of the Gordon Highlanders escaped from Germany and arrived home in Coatbridge in April 1917. He was married to Alexander's sister Isabella and they had 2 children. From the 1901 Census - Address - 67 Nimmos Rows, Holytown - William Brown aged 57, Jessie Brown aged 43, Richard Brown aged 19, Allison Brown aged 17 (04/05/1883 - 24/02/1964, William Brown aged 16 (06/02/1885 - 25/09/1915), James Brown aged 14 (26/02/1887 - /03/1965), Isabella Kerr Brown aged 12 (23/02/1889 - 1938), Robert Baxter Brown aged 10 (24/12/1890 - 16/09/1976), Charles Brown aged 7 (1894 - 12/05/1959), Alexander Brown aged 4, Daniel Brown aged 2 and Henry Brown aged 1 month (06/02/1901 - 15/07/1965). Alexander's Pension was awarded to his mother Jessie on the 22/01/1918.

Born / Resided

Dalserf / 43 Whifflet St, Coatbridge.

Died

Killed in Action 09/04/1917 by an enemy shell at the 1st Battle of the Scarpe (opening day of the Battle of Arras)

Enlisted

05/08/1914 Bowhill, Fife

Employed

Miner in Rosehall Colliery.

Age

19 Buried / Remembered

Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery (XV. N. 16), Souchez, Pas de Calais, France.

Cemetery / Memorial Information

Situated between two war cemeteries, one French and the other German, Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery lies south of the town of Souchez in France. The cemetery contains more than 7,650 burials of servicemen of the British Empire in the First World War, over half of which remain unidentified. Cabaret Rouge was a small café, its brick building with red tiles was distinctive in the village where most of the houses were thatched. It stood less than a mile south of Souchez and was destroyed by heavy shelling in May 1915. The cemetery contains the graves of many units that served in this sector including British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, Indian and South African forces

Additional Information

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON ALEXANDER'S BROTHERS - Private William Kerr Brown of the 5th (Service) Battalion Cameron Highlanders (06/02/1885 - 25/09/1915) married Agnes McConnell (22/11/1893 - ). They had 2 children (see Directory). Gunner Robert Baxter Brown (181923) of the 495th Siege Battery Royal Garrison Artillery enlisted at Coatbridge on the 13/08/1917. He married Janet McGinn on the 31/12/1913 in Coatbridge. They had 3 children, William born 24/10/1914, Ellen born 22/04/1916 and Jessie born 14/10/1918. Robert was discharged on the 27/01/1919. His wife Janet died on the 30/10/1918 of Pneumonia at 25 Balgownie Terrace, Cardenden, Fife. Gunner Charles Brown (181924) Royal 493rd Siege Battery Garrison Artillery enlisted with his brother Robert and was home on the 25/01/1919. Charles married Lillias Rooney (1893 - 26/01/1982) in Glasgow on the 20/08/1917. Richard Brown of the Royal Army Medical Corps (28/09/1881 - 09/05/1962) married Jane Fox (31/05/1882 - 03/06/1957) on the 31/12/1903. They are buried in Bowhill Cemetery, Cardenden, Fife. Gunner Daniel Brown (109093) Royal Field Artillery was the youngest of the 6 brothers who served. Alexander and the Battalion arrived in Boulogne on the 10/05/1915 and were part of the 26th Brigade, 9th (Scottish) Division. Alexander was killed when an enemy shell burst among his platoon during an advance at the 1st Battle of the Scarpe. This was part of the opening phase of the Arras offensive (Battle of Arras), 9th - 16th June 1917 : Once again the British are called upon to launch an attack in support to a larger French offensive: the battles of the Chemin des Dames and the hills of Champagne. The opening Battle of Vimy and the First Battle of the Scarpe are very encouraging, but once again the offensive – often known as the Battle of Arras – bogs down into an attritional slog. Final attempts to outflank the German lines at Bullecourt prove terribly costly. SEE PHOTOS x 12 FOR THE 9th (SCOTTISH) DIVISION APRIL 1917 and PHOTOS x 8 FOR THE BATTALION WAR DIARY MARCH - APRIL 1917. See Directory for Alexander's brother William's page. See Newspaper clippings Coatbridge Express (2) and (3) for a message from Lieutenant MacGillivray to Alexander's mother. He was reburied in Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery (see photos x 2). See Newspaper clippings x 8 for more information of Alexander and this patriotic family. Also see Newspaper clippings x 8 for the story of Alexander's brother-in-law Private William Cree who escaped from Germany. Alexander is also remembered on the Coatbridge Free Church Roll of Honour. Alexander and his brother William both named on the Bowhill War Memorial (see photos, pic of names to follow). See photos for Alexander's Medal Index Card, for the North Lanarkshire Poor Law Applications and Registers 1885 - 1915, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his CWGC Grave Registrations x 2, his Reburial Forms x 2, his Headstone Reports x 2, Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery, the Cameron Highlanders Cap Badge and Alexander's Pension Records x 2, brother Robert's Medal Index Card, brothers Robert and Charles' listing in the 1919 book, Robert and Charles' Service Medal and Award Rolls, brother Charles' Medal Index Card, brother Daniel's Medal Index Card, his listing in the 1919 book, Daniel's Service Medal and Award Rolls and brother Richard's Family Grave in Bowhill Cemetery, Cardenden, Fife x 2 (kindly donated by Mike Brown). Alexander's grave inscription reads "STILL TO MEMORIES DEAR". Finally, see photos for Newspaper clippings x 8 (Coatbridge Express x 4, Coatbridge Express x 3 and Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser x 1), another photo of Alexander's grave, main grave photo taken by myself in July 2023 and Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery taken by myself in July 2023 x 2. The History of the 9th (Scottish) Division book is available to read online here

Photos

Alexander (Sandy) Brown Medal Index Card

Alexander (Sandy) Brown remembered at home

Alexander (Sandy) Brown additional photo

War Diaries

The battalion War Diary is available on the National Archives website.

Creative Commons License

We have made this information and the images available under a Creative Commons BY-NC license. This means you may reuse it for non-commercial purposes only and must attribute it to us using the following statement: © coatbridgeandthegreatwar.com

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