Brown, Wilfred

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(Samuel) Wilfred Brown 

19039, Private, 16th Royal Welsh Fusiliers
Killed in action, 11 July 1916, aged 20
No known grave (Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France)

CWGC registered (Son of Amy Brown, of “Eversley”, 1 Hill Terrace, Llandudno, and the late S Brown)

Wilfred Brown was born in Liverpool on 20 June 1896 and his name was registered as Samuel Wilfrid Brown. His parents, Samuel Aaron Brown, a hairdresser, and Amy Brown (née Pickup) had been married in Liverpool in 1892 and moved to Llandudno where their first child, Mabel, was born in 1893. In March 1899, Wilfred was admitted to St. George’s National School, the family’s address being recorded as “Longton House”, Old Road, Llandudno. In 1901, the family lived at “Court Royal”, Vaughan Street; the children being Mabel, Evelyn, Wilfred (as SW Brown), and Elsie. Ten years later, the family lived at “Avoca”, Vaughan Street and three more children were recorded: Walter, Albert and Doris. Wilfred had joined his father as a hairdresser. Samuel Aaron Brown died in 1912.

Wilfred volunteered to join the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. He enlisted at Liverpool but joined the 16th (Service) Battalion that formed at Llandudno in November 1914 from recruits surplus to the 13th Battalion that had formed at Rhyl in September. A component of the 38th (Welsh) Division, the 16th RWF moved to Winchester in August 1915 and disembarked at Boulogne on 4 December 1915.

Wilfred Brown, aged 20, was killed in action on 11 July 1916 during the attack on Mametz Wood during the Battle of Albert, a phase of the Battle of the Somme. He has no known grave.

The tragedy was compounded when Wilfred’s younger brother Albert was accidentally killed the following year on the Little Orme when hunting for seagull eggs.

Known memorials:

  • Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France
  • Llandudno Roll of Honour
  • Llandudno War Memorial
  • Memorial Chapel, Holy Trinity Church, Llandudno

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