Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Family group:

Four: Private W. Brown, 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders, who died on 30 October 1914 from wounds received on 26 October near Fauquissart during the Battle of La Bassée
1914 Star, with copy clasp (758 Pte. W. Brown. 1/ Gord: Highrs.); British War and Victory Medals (758 Pte. W. Brown. Gord. Highrs.); Belgium, Kingdom, Croix de Guerre, A.I.R, bronze, with palm emblem on riband, together with a Gordon Highlander’s cap badge and the recipient’s riband bar with rosette and palm emblem, traces of verdigris to CdeG, otherwise nearly extremely fine

Pair: Corporal J. Brown, 1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry, late 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders
British War and Victory Medals (12041 Pte. J. Brown. H.L.I.); together with 3 Gordon Highlanders boxing medals, silver, one with obverse, ‘2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders’ and reverse, ‘Presented to Pte. Brown, Battalion Feather Weight Champion 1909’; another with obverse featuring two pugilists within a wreath and the words, ‘2nd Bn The Gordon Highlanders India’ and reverse, ‘Won by Pte J. Brown Gordon Hrs. Feather Weight Champion Boxer of Cawnpore June 1910’; and the third with Gordon Highlanders badge obverse and on the reverse, ‘Company Championship “E” Company’, 1 clasp, ‘1912’, the edge inscribed, ‘No. 10354 Pte. J. Brown’; together with the recipient’s riband bar and miniature Great War awards, Imperial Service Brooch; Gordon Highlanders cap badge and a Gordon Highlanders cloth badge, good very fine (lot) £260-£300

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Barry Hobbs Collection of Great War Medals.

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William Brown was born in 1894 at Barony, Lanarkshire and attested for the Gordon Highlanders in 1911 at Glasgow. He served with the 1st Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 13 August 1914 and would have been present at the Battle of Mons and also at Le Cateau where the order to retire reached the Gordons some hours late by which time the main body of the British Expeditionary Force were some distance away. The Gordons, with two companies of 2nd Royal Irish, then attempted to follow, but ran into a strong German force on the outskirts of Bertry and after an hour’s fierce fighting many men became casualties and large numbers were forced to surrender. The Battalion as part of the 8th Brigade, in the the 3rd Division of Smith-Dorrien’s II Corps, was also engaged at the Battle of La Bassée, during which, on the 24th October, it was holding a defensive line at Fauquissart when the Germans attacked, breaking through the 1st Gordon’s line.

Cyril Falls in his regimental history notes that the assault was carried out with great determination, the Gordons being driven through the orchards of Fauquissart onto the Neuve Chapelle - Armentières road. A portion of the 4th Middlesex came up later and together with the 1st Gordons in support managed to regain the lost trenches. In this period of fighting, the Battalion’s casualties of 7 Officers and 197 other ranks included Brown who was wounded on 26 October 1914. He died of his wounds three days later on 30 October 1914. He was the son of Robert Moore Brown and Isabella Ross Brown of Dromore, County Down, Northern Ireland and is buried in Bethune Town Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France.

Note: Belgian Croix de Guerre unconfirmed.

John Brown, older brother of the above, was born at Glasgow, Lanarkshire around 1887 and attested for the Gordon Highlanders in 1907. Posted to the 2nd Battalion, he served in India, 1908-1912, where the battalion garrisoned Calcutta, February 1908 to December 1909 and Cawnpore, January 1910 to November 1911. He attested for the Highland Light Infantry in January 1913 and served with the 1st Battalion during the Great War.