The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of Second Lieutenant James Monteagle Brown, 25th Australian Infantry Battalion, 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 , the story for this day was on Second Lieutenant James Monteagle Brown, 25th Australian Infantry Battalion, First World War.

Second Lieutenant James Monteagle Brown, 25th Australian Infantry Battalion
KIA 29 July 1916

Today we remember and pay tribute to Second Lieutenant James Monteagle Brown.

James Brown was born on 6 May 1888 in the Brisbane suburb of Normanby Hill. Affectionately known as “Jimmy”, he was one of five children born to local merchant and businessman William Hutcheson Brown and his wife Jane. Jimmy received his education at Kelvin Grove State School, and later Brisbane Grammar School where he was a keen student, talented sportsman and a member of the cadets program. He went on to attend Gatton College and began working as a farmer at Cedar Grove. He later entered the merchant business and began working for Messrs Howes Brothers and Co. At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, he was managing the Warwick produce store for local merchants J. Jackson and Co.

Jimmy Brown enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 2 August 1915. He was assigned to the 9th Reinforcements of the 25th Battalion and commenced a short period of training in Australia. Brown rose quickly through the ranks, first being promoted to sergeant, then quartermaster sergeant before applying for a commission in the AIF. His commission was granted on 17 December 1915, and he was appointed second lieutenant. He embarked for active service in January the following year, sailing from Brisbane on board the troopship Wandilla.

After several weeks at sea, Second Lieutenant Brown arrived in Egypt, where he joined other new recruits and veterans of the recently abandoned Gallipoli campaign. He remained there until March, when he embarked for the Western Front. He arrived in the French city of Marseilles after a week-long voyage and was immediately sent north to the French and Belgian border. Over the weeks that followed, Brown’s unit undertook periods of training behind the lines, as well as short stints on duty in the trenches.

In July, the 25th Battalion was sent south to the Somme Valley, to take part in the advance on German positions around the French village of Pozieres. The men entered the front lines around the village on 28 July 1916, in preparation for an attack under the cover of darkness the following morning. They began their advance just after midnight on the 29th, tasked with taking two lines of German trenches on Pozieres Ridge. In five waves the men of the 25th jumped the parapets, coming under murderous machine-gun fire from enemy lines. As they pressed forward, Brown and his men were hit by the enemy’s artillery, as well as fire from mortars as they reached their first objective. By the time they made it to the second trench, the battalion was so outnumbered that the men were forced to dig in for cover. Private Herbert Harris, who was also caught in the fighting at Pozieres, described the battle:

“Imagine men dug in a few feet into the ground and shells falling just like rain. Trenches blown up and men digging for dear life to rebuild them, or rescuing their comrades who were buried and in most cases the rescuers were also buried by shells … when entering the trenches we were bombarded with tear and gas shells which made us wear our gas helmets … it is almost impossible to see and hard to breathe … I have heard officers and men say that the landing and the Lone Pine battle at Gallipoli were a picnic compared to this last fight.”

Shortly after, the battalion received orders to retreat to its own lines. By the following morning, the 25th Battalion had suffered some 340 casualties. Among the dead was 2nd Lieutenant James Monteagle Brown.

One of his comrades, Lieutenant Harrison, recounted the last time he saw Brown:

“I saw him killed on July 29th at night - about 12:30am. He was first wounded in the arm by machine gun fire. He stood up to have his arm bandaged when another machine gun got him in the head. I went up to him but found he was dead. This was against the German wire at Pozieres. We were driven back that night and Germans came over the ground and heavy bombardment opened up and as far as I know his body was not brought in.”

Brown’s remains were later recovered from the battlefield and reburied nearby. Today, he lies at Courcelette Military Cemetery. Friends and colleagues in Brisbane later said of him:

“We knew where he went that he would do his best and his duty. He had done so and had laid down his life. In him, we have lost a personal friend and a young man of bright promise which he sacrificed gladly. In him, was the spirit that permeates the whole of our race, and the state is poorer by the loss of such a life.”

Second Lieutenant Jimmy Brown was 28 years old.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Second Lieutenant James Monteagle Brown, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meghan Adams
Researcher, Military History Section