The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1895) Private David Victor Brown, 27th Battalion (Infantry), First World War

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Meredith Duncant, the story for this day was on (1895) Private David Victor Brown, 27th Battalion (Infantry), First World War.


**Due to technical issues this recording is of poor quality and not for public display.**

1895 Private David Victor Brown, 27th Battalion
DOW 6 August 1916
No photograph in collection (image used from Adelaide Chronicle, 21 October 1916, p.44)

Story delivered 18 October 2013

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private David Victor Brown of the 27th Battalion.

David Brown was the only son of Mrs Julia Brown. His father left them when David was just a young boy, and he grew up in Port Pirie, South Australia, with just his mother. Brown was very interested in the sea. He served two years in the Royal Australian Navy reserve and had a seaman's tattoos on his forearms. Even though he was engaged as a wharf labourer prior to enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force, he gave his occupation as seaman, perhaps a further indication of the job he would rather be doing.

Nevertheless, Brown enlisted in the infantry in June 1915 and was sent to Gallipoli with the 3rd reinforcements to the 27th Battalion. He arrived on the peninsula in October, and although he was slightly wounded he was too late for any of the major offensives. He arrived in Egypt in early 1916 for a period of training before going to fight on the Western Front.

Brown's health deteriorated in France and he suffered from, among other things, pharyngitis and a severe throat abscess. After a period of treatment in hospitals in England and France, he recovered enough to rejoin his battalion in the field.

Brown rejoined the 27th Battalion in time to participate in the fighting around the French village of Pozières. In early August he was reported missing, having last been seen wounded in the trenches. His mother was told by returned soldiers that they thought his wound was only slight, and he may have been taken prisoner.

But the hopes of David's mother and friends were unfounded. The 4th Australian Field Ambulance reported that they had taken Private Brown in with a fractured right humerus and hand, and shortly afterwards he died of his wounds. He was buried in the Warloy-Baillon Communal Cemetery. David Victor Brown had died on his 24th birthday.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, along with more than 60,000 others from the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of courage and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private David Victor Brown, and all those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.