Arthur Brown
- Family History
- Military History
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Arthur was the son of John and Harriet Brown (née Wing).His father John was born in Bingham in 1859, the son of Thomas, an agricultural labourer, and Jane Brown (née Stubbs, m. 1857). The family lived in Bingham. His mother Harriet was born in 1854 (bap. East Allington November 1854) in Allington, Lincolnshire, the daughter of William and Sarah Wing (née Meadwell, m. 1854).John and Harriet were married on 25 December 1880 and had two sons, Arthur b. 1891, who was baptised at Bingham St Mary & All Saints on 28 April 1891, and John William b. 1893.In 1901 John, a farm bailif, and Harriet were living at Starnhill Farm with their sons Arthur and John. Also in the household were two general farm servants.John snr. died aged 44 in 1904 (reg. Bingham).In 1911 his widow Harriet was living on Cherry Street, Bingham, with her two sons, who were both farm labourers, and her widowed mother, Sarah Wing.Arthur married Rebecca Parnham (b. 1891) at Nottingham Register Office on 14 December 1912. Rebecca had a son, Thomas Henry Parnham (b. 1911), who later took the surname Brown, and two sons were born after their marriage: John William b. December 1912 and Charles Arthur b. 1915. They lived at Cherry Street, Bingham.Rebecca and her three sons were still living in Bingham when the 1921 Census was recorded. Her mother-in-law, Harriet Brown, was living in Bingham with her married son John, his wife Edith (née Boyes, m. 1920) and their son John.
Private Arthur Brown enlisted at Newark and initially served with service number 44773 in the North Staffordshire Regiment. He later transferred to the Lancashire Fusiliers.The 2nd Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers was in barracks in Dover when war was declared. It landed at Boulogne on 22 August 1914 with the 12th Infantry Brigade, 4th Division. After a period under order of 36th (Ulster) Division, the Brigade returned to 4th Division in February 1916.Arthur was killed in action on 23rd October 1916. However, a notice in the local paper in May 1917 confirming his death gave the date that he was reported missing as 12 October 1916. The battalion was in heavy fighting on the 12th but the CWGC record gives his date of death as 23 October 1916 when the battalion took part in an unsuccessful attack on enemy trenches. Arhtur has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France (Pier and Face 3 C and 3 D).Extract from the 2nd Battalion war diary which describes the losses on 12 October and then the battalion's move on 22 October to Thistle Trench, close to Lesboefs, to assemble for a planned attack on 23 October. Its objective, with the 2nd Bn Essex Regiment and 1st King’s Own Lancaster Regiment, was to take part of Dewdrop Trench to the south-east of a sunken road joining Lesboeufs to Le Transloy as well as several subsidiary trenches including Rainy Trench. Dewdrop Trench was approximately 450 years from the British front line. Once the trenches had been captured, the 2nd Lancashire Fusiliers were to consolidate Dewdrop while the other units moved forward to another objective. Fog delayed the attack which then began at 2.30pm. The attack met with heavy opposition and there were heavy casualties and ultimately achieved an advance of only 150 yards. (See also www.binghamheritage.org.uk/bingham_at_war/world_war_1/the_fallen/brown_arthur_war_diary.pdf)
'In memoriam' notice, 17th May 1917, Nottingham Evening Post: 'BROWN - missing since October 12th (sic) 1916 now reported killed in action Private Arthur Brown, Lancashire Fusiliers, From sorrowing wife and three little boys, Bingham.' Following his death his widow Rebecca was awarded a pension of 26 shiilings and 3 pence a week to commence on 2nd July 1917.
