George Brown (1898-1949)
Man from Stockton-on-Tees who served with 12th DLI won the DCM in Italy
Little can be discovered about George Brown who was born in Stockton-on-Tees in 1898. He enlisted in the 1st/5th Battalion Durham Light Infantry (DLI) in the summer of 1915 and was later transferred to the 1st/6th Battalion. In 1916, after a period of rest, he would have returned to the front line and, in 1917, would have been involved in the 1st and 2nd Battles of Passchendaele. In November 1917, the Battalion was moved to Italy and, in September 1918, together with George Nelson (also of the 12th Battalion), he won the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM).
The award of the DCM was gazetted on 25 February 1920 and the citation reads:
“At the forcing of the River Piave on 27th October, 1918, a party was engaged in cutting wire which was holding the attack up. Except the officer, who was wounded, the whole party was killed. Pte. Brown, who had already been wounded once, then run forward on his own initiative to help his officer. He was again wounded, but went on with the work until a passage was affected. Had the wire not been cut, the battalion could not have advanced and the attack would probably failed”.
Civil Parish: Stockton on Tees
Birth date: 1898
Death date: 1949
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: Stockton-on-Tees (England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915)
Newcastle-upon-Tyne (England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007)
Military service:
1st/5th, 1st/6th, 12th & 13th Battalions Durham Light Infantry
Regimental numbers: 3842, 202779, 270041 & 114573
Private
Medal(s): Distinguished Conduct Medal
British War Medal
Victory Medal
Gender: Male
Contributed by John Edwards
