William Brown likeness

William Brown cap badgePrivate William Brown

8th (Service) Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers "A" Company
Service No: 16844

William Brown grave

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Click here for a frameable A4 print
Personal details

Family Information

Brother of Mrs Bridget McGuinness of 42g Dunbeth Rd, Coatbridge. William came to Coatbridge with his sister Bridget in the early years of the century. He had 2 brothers serving in the Army, 1 with the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) and the other with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. From the 1901 Ireland Census - Address - 24 Castle High Street, Gilford, Co. Down - Henry Brown aged 69, Lizzie Brown aged 59, Bridget Brown aged 28, William Brown aged 21, Joseph H Brown aged 12.

Born / Resided

Bann View, Tulish, Gilford, Co. Down / 42g Dunbeth Rd, Coatbridge.

Died

Killed in Action on the 27/04/1916 at the village of Hulloch, Loos

Enlisted

Coatbridge

Employed

Tube Bender, Caledonian Tube Works.

Age

36

Buried / Remembered

Loos Memorial (Panel 127 to 129), Pas de Calais, France.

Cemetery / Memorial Information

The Loos Memorial commemorates over 20,000 officers and men who have no known grave, who fell in the area from the River Lys to the old southern boundary of the First Army, east and west of Grenay, from the first day of the Battle of Loos to the end of the war. On either side of the cemetery is a wall 15 feet high, to which are fixed tablets on which are carved the names of those commemorated. At the back are four small circular courts, open to the sky, in which the lines of tablets are continued, and between these courts are three semicircular walls or apses, two of which carry tablets, while on the centre apse is erected the Cross of Sacrifice.

Additional Information

William and the Battalion arrived at Le Havre on the 20/12/1915 and were part of the 48th Brigade, 16th (Irish) Division. William was one of 77 members of the 8th Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers killed at Hulloch, Loos on the 27/04/1916 when the Battalion came under heavy artillery fire and a chlorine gas attack. An Officer stated he died 'facing the enemy' (see Newspaper clipping to his sister Bridget McGuinness). The Gas Attacks at Hulloch : Just before dawn on the 27th of April, the 16th (Irish) Division and part of the 15th (Scottish) Division were subjected to a cloud gas attack near Hulluch. The gas cloud and artillery bombardment were followed by raiding parties, which made temporary lodgements in the British lines. The gas used by the German troops at Hulluch was a mixture of chlorine and phosgene, which had first been used on the 19th of December 1915 at Wieltje, near Ypres. The German gas was of sufficient concentration to penetrate the British PH gas helmets and the 16th Division was unjustly blamed for poor gas discipline. It was put out that the gas helmets of the division were of inferior manufacture, to allay doubts as to the effectiveness of the helmet. SEE PHOTOS x 18 FOR THE BATTALION WAR DIARY APRIL 1916. SEE WAR DIARIES 9 to 18 FOR NOMINAL ROLL OF KILLED, WOUNDED & MISSING, 27th - 29th APRIL 1916. William is also remembered on the Gilford, Co. Down Memorial (see photos) and on the St. Patrick's Church Roll of Honour (book). See photos for William's Medal Index Card, his Newspaper clipping, his name on the Irelands Casualties Roll of Honour, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls, William's name on the Loos Memorial donated by Mick McCann at britishwargraves.co.uk, his Will made out to his sister Bridget x 2, his CWGC Grave Registration, his name on the Loos Memorial Panel List and the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Cap Badge. Finally, see photos x 2 for the Wreath placed by myself at the Loos Memorial in July 2023 remembering the men who fell during the Battle of Loos 1915, myself and Wreath at the Royal Dublin Fusiliers Panel in July 2023 (William listed lower right), Newspaper clippings x 2 (Coatbridge Express x 1 and Coatbridge Leader x 1), PAGES x 8 FROM THE IRELAND'S UNKNOWN SOLDIERS BOOK (Terence Denham book on the 16th (Irish) Division in the Great War) and the 16th (Irish) Division Order of Battle x 14.

Photos
William Brown Medal Index CardWilliam Brown newspaper clippingWilliam Brown newspaper clippingWilliam Brown newspaper clippingWilliam Brown remembered at homeWilliam Brown remembered at homeWilliam Brown remembered at homeWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam Brown additional photoWilliam 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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