Private T W Brown was a patient at Beechlands.  His entry in Nurse Oliver’s album reads

 

Dear little sweetheart

Tis hard to say goodbye

But duty must be done

Tis harder still to leave you

But victory must be won.

Someday when your loving face

I see, you’ll find my love is

just as strong as the days that used to be.

 

But if it is that I am slain

& you [sic] loving face I never see again

You’ll proudly know I died a heroes

death with my face towards the

foe.  So we’ll just say Au revoir

dear with hope we meet once

more

 

Pte T. W. Brown

DLI

 

Wounded on the Somme

Sep 1916

 

Sixteen battalions of the Durham Light Infantry fought on the Somme in 1916.  These were: 2nd Battalion, 1/5th Battalion (TF), 1/6th Battalion (TF), 1/7th Battalion (TF), 1/8th Battalion (TF), 1/9th Battalion (TF), 10th (Service) Battalion, 11th (Service) Battalion, 12th (Service) Battalion, 13th (Service) Battalion, 14th (Service) Battalion, 15th (Service) Battalion, 18th (Service) Battalion (1st County), 19th (Service) Battalion (2nd County), 20th (Service) Battalion (Wearside) and the 22nd (Service) Battalion (3rd County Pioneers).

 

Of these, the 18th, 19th and 22nd Battalions alone did not see action during September (when Brown was wounded).  It seems a reasonable assumption to make therefore that he served with one of the remaining thirteen battalions.

 

The National Archives has one possibility for T W Brown (76 Private T W Brown of the 1/5th Durham Light Infantry) and two possibilies for Thomas W Brown: 6/3262 Private Thomas W Brown (later 203841 Private Thomas W Brown, DLI) and 10154 Private Thomas W Brown (later 113341 Private Thomas W Brown, MGC).

 

There may also be other name combinations however that fit “T W Brown” and at the moment there is not enough information to go on to positively identify this man.

 

 

Sources and Acknowledgements

 

• British Battalions on The Somme – Ray Westlake
• The National Archives – on-line Medal Index Cards