Martin George Brown

Born 14 Dec 1885 - Died 4 Sept 1966

Service number: WWI 26786 AWMM
Also known as: —
Armed force / branch: Army AWMM
Last rank: Inter War Corporal/Military AWMM
War: World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM

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Martin George Brown — Postcard sent by Martin Brown (26786) to his sister. Daily mail, Crown Copyright (1917) 153 Anzacs in France. Off to the trenches. Auckland War Memorial Museum call no. D531 F8 C953.4. Image has no known copyright restrictions. No Known Copyright Restrictions

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Wars and conflicts

War: World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM
Campaign: Messines AWMM
Armed force / branch: Army AWMM
Service number: WWI 26786 AWMM
Military service: —
Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers: —

Military decorations

Medals and Awards: British War Medal (Received 27 June 1921)
Victory Medal (Received 14 July 1922)
Public - Sam - Other Relative - 15 March 2015 - Military personal file

Training and Enlistment

Military training: —
Branch Trade Proficiency: —
Enlistment: WW1 May 1916 AWMM
Age 32 AWMM
School teacher/Civilian AWMM
Enlisted 30 May 1916, commenced duty 1 June 1916 with A Company, 2nd Battalion, Auckland Infantry Re
Public - Sam - Other Relative - 15 March 2015 - Military personal file
Age on enlistment: Age 31
Public - Sam - Other Relative - 15 March 2015 - Military personal file
Occupation before enlistment: —

Embarkations

Embarkation details: WW1 25 Sep 1916-21 Nov 1916 AWMM
HMNZT 64 AWMM Vessel was Devon AWMM Corporal/Military AWMM 17th Reinforcements, Auckland Infantry Battalion, A Company AWMM New Zealand Expeditionary Force AWMM

Medical history

Medical notes: Hospital Diseases , Wounds, WWI AWMM
In June, 1917, after being hit in the foot by a piece of schrapnel and losing the ends of two toes, Corporal Brown also spent one week in No. 7 General Hospital, at St. Olmer, before being transferred to No. 2 Hospital (New Zealand), at Walton-on-Thames, where the remains of the two toes were amputated. AWMM

Last known rank

Last rank: Inter War 1919 AWMM
End of war AWMM
Corporal/Military AWMM
Last Rank Corporal
Discharged 23 April 1919 due to end of war service
Embarked for New Zealand from
Public - Sam - Other Relative - 15 March 2015 - Military personal file
Last rank: —

Biographical information

Martin George Brown was born in New Zealand in 1885, the son of James Boyer Brown (1849–1932) and Katie Jane Brown (née Rust, 1856–1932). Before World War I he attended Auckland University College, now the University of Auckland, and worked as a school teacher for the Auckland Education Board.

Brown enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in May 1916. He served with the 17th Reinforcements and later with the Auckland Infantry Regiment, spending more than two years overseas.

Brown saw active service on the Western Front. His surviving letters and postcards record his experiences of trench warfare, artillery bombardments, machine-gun fire, gas attacks and preparations for major offensives. A postcard written on 7 April 1917 accompanied a photograph of New Zealand soldiers heading for the trenches. Brown noted that it gave a good impression of their equipment and packs, including the steel helmets strapped to their backs (EPH-W1-1-224).

Other postcards provide glimpses of his movements through France. On a photograph of New Zealand soldiers near Mametz Wood, Brown identified the location as being in the trenches near the wood (EPH-W1-1-225). A postcard showing troops at Eblinghem records that after leaving Armentières they disembarked there, marched through Blaringhem to Arques and then entrained again (EPH-W1-1-220). On another postcard he identified the location as Tricourt on the Somme, recalling that they had lived in tarpaulin huts there for several days before going up to the firing line (EPH-W1-1-216).

The postcards also capture Brown's observations of the photographs being circulated during the war. He identified soldiers pictured queuing at a field canteen as men of the Second Brigade (EPH-W1-1-228), and described another photograph as showing some of the Divisional Ammunition Column (EPH-W1-1-232). When a Daily Mail postcard identified a group as New Zealand gunners bringing up a gun, Brown corrected the caption, stating that they were British troops taking up a six-inch howitzer (EPH-W1-1-215). On another postcard showing Prime Minister William Massey visiting New Zealand troops in France, Brown commented on Massey's prominence during his visit to Britain (EPH-W1-1-234).

During a night battle Brown was wounded in the right foot, ultimately losing two toes. He later recalled that the fighting involved 18-pounder field guns, naval artillery and poison gas. After being wounded he attempted to climb from the trench when a shell landed close to him. The explosion left him dazed and his ears ringing, although he was able to reach medical assistance.

After treatment in France, Brown was evacuated to England and admitted to hospital. He subsequently recuperated at Walton-on-Thames. His postcards from Walton provide a record of this period away from the front. On 27 July 1917 he described the High Street, noting the modern appearance of the town and pointing out two New Zealand hospital patients in the photograph (EPH-W1-1-243). The same day he wrote about the old church at Walton and its historical relics (EPH-W1-1-245). On 1 August he wrote that he expected to go to Hornchurch and hoped to visit Colne Engaine, Hampton Court and Kew Gardens before finally leaving England (EPH-W1-1-244).

Brown was later transferred to Sling Camp and Étaples for retraining before returning to the front around October 1917 following a period of leave. From August 1918 he was employed on office duties in France, frequently working from 9 a.m. until midnight. In a letter dated 9 November 1918, only two days before the Armistice, he described continuing late-night work and intense aerial activity overhead, while expressing hope that hostilities would soon cease.

Brown returned to New Zealand in 1919 and was discharged from the New Zealand Expeditionary Force on termination of his period of engagement. His service was recognised with the British War Medal and Victory Medal.

After the war Brown returned to the Auckland region. He married Charlotte Mabel Dobson (1895–1963) in 1922. That year he was living at Colombo Road, Waiuku. By about 1930 he had moved to Selwyn Road, Kohimarama, and by 1951 was living at 11 Halsey Road, Manurewa.

Martin George Brown died suddenly at his Manurewa home on 4 September 1966, aged 80. His funeral service was held at St Luke's Anglican Church, Manurewa, followed by cremation at Purewa.

Pou Kanohi

Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira holds Martin George Brown's wartime diaries and correspondence (MS-1176), including letters written during 1917 describing front-line conditions, fighting and his wounding. Letters dated 20 and 21 June 1917 were written while Brown was recovering from his wounds. A later letter, dated 9 November 1918, records his experiences in France immediately before the Armistice.

The Museum's collections also include Brown's wartime postcards, including views and photographs associated with his service in France and his convalescence in England. AWMM

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Martin George Brown