Private William James Brown

 

William James Brown was born on 18 August 1892 at Feglish, Lsnagore, County Tyrone, the first of nine children of farm labourer Irvine Brown and his wife Lizzie (née Mosgrove). Soon after this the family moved to Ballycassidy, County Fermanagh. At the time of the 1911 Census William was living at Shanmullagh, Ballycassidy, with his recently widowed mother and seven of his siblings, and working as a farm labourer.

Brown enlisted in the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons Service Squadron between 13 and 19 October 1914 (No. UD/29 – later Corps of Dragoons number 21220). The squadron, which had been formed as divisional cavalry for the 36th (Ulster) Division, embarked for France on 6 October 1915. A party of about thirty men of the squadron, including Brown, had embarked three days earlier, attached to 36th Division Headquarters – many if not all of them serving as batmen to senior officers.

In June 1916 the Inniskilling squadron joined C and F Squadrons of the North Irish Horse to form the 2nd North Irish Horse Regiment, serving as corps cavalry to X Corps until August 1917 when it was disbanded and its men transferred to the infantry.

Brown was not with the 2nd (NIH) Regiment at the time though. It is probable that by then he had returned to the UK due to sickness or injury and then been posted to the squadron's reserve camp at Enniskillen, or that he had remained attached to divisional headquarters.

On 21 April 1919 he was discharged, being 'surplus to military requirements, having suffered impairment since entry into the service' (paragraph 392 (xvi(a), King's Regulations).

 

This page last updated 30 January 2023.