Cecil Livingstone BROWN (4449 & N449102)

Cecil was born on the 20th of February 1893 at Abbatoir Road, Balmain West, NSW, Australia. He was the youngest of 12 children of John BROWN (abt. 1845-1900) and Sarah TONGUE (1849-1927).

On 8 August 1915, Cecil enlisted in the AIF at the age of 22 years and 7 months. A butcher by trade, the family was living at Stockton although may have only recently moved from Balmain as both addresses appear in his records.

Assigned to the 2nd Battalion 14th Reinforcements, Cecil left Australia aboard the Osterley in January 1916 and in May he was transferred to the 12th Battalion (3rd Brigade) in France. This battalion had seen action in Gallipoli and in March 1916, sailed for France and the Western Front. From then until 1918 the battalion took part in bitter trench warfare. The battalion’s first major action in France was at Pozières in the Somme valley in July 1916. After Pozières, the battalion fought at Ypres in Flanders and then returned to the Somme for winter.

Cecil was wounded in action on 18th August 1916 but was able to rejoin his unit only 2 days later. Cecil was admitted to hospital on a number of other occasions suffering from influenza, myalgia, dental problems and I.C.T. finger.

In 1917 the battalion took part in the brief advance that followed the German Army’s retreat to the Hindenburg Line. For their valorous actions near Boursies during this advance, Captain J. E. ‘Jim’ Newland, commanding A Company, and Sergeant J. W. Whittle were each awarded the Victoria Cross. The battalion subsequently returned to Belgium to participate in the offensive that became known as the Third Battle of Ypres.

In March and April 1918 the battalion helped to stop the German spring offensive, and later participated in the great allied offensive of 1918, fighting near Amiens on 8 August 1918. This advance by British and empire troops was the greatest success in a single day on the Western Front, one that German General Erich Ludendorff described as “the black day of the German Army in this war”. The battalion continued operations until late September 1918.

In September 1918 Cecil was transferred to the 1st Machine Gun Battalion where he stayed until the end of the war. They returned to England in March 1919 and arrived in Sydney in July 1919.

Cecil was discharged medically unfit in January 1920 due to an injury to his left knee. However in March 1942, Cecil enlisted in the Citizen's Military Forces in Stockton, NSW, AUS in the 5 Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (Part Time Duty), serving until September 1945.

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