Name
Henry George Brown
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
01/07/1916
29
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Lance Corporal
20097
Bedfordshire Regiment
"C" Company, 7th Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
THIEPVAL MEMORIAL
Panel/Pier 2C.
France
UK & Other Memorials
Stevenage Old Town Memorial
St Nicholas' Church Memorial, Stevenage Old Town
Holy Trinity Church Memorial Roll of Honour, Stevenage Old Town
Aspenden Village Memorial
Pre War
Henry was the son of Henry George & Jane Brown and the husband of Ann Brown of 7 Albert Street. He worked in Belgium before the First World War and was one of those who were killed in the most renowned action of the war, the first day of The Battle of the Somme.
Wartime Service
The battalion, with the 11th Royal Fusiliers on its right, led the left of the attack by the 18th Division. They advanced at 7.30 am and within 15 minutes had captured the first line system of German defences, a place called Emden Trench. By the time the objective had been reached every officer in the two leading platoons had fallen but the men pressed on, led by NCOs. The Germans were well protected in their dugouts and put up a fierce resistance. The assaulting battalions carried forward their attack supported by machine-guns and trench mortars which, according to the Divisional history, provided a hurricane bombardment. Eventually, at 9.30am, after an intensely bitter fight the Battalion took their final objectives, the Pommiers Trench & Redoubt, which were filled with German dead. The Battalion had suffered some 321 casualties during the assault. Henry has no known grave and his name is recorded on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France.
Additional Information
www.stevenageatwar.com
Acknowledgments
Paul Johnson
