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Harry Brown - Information

When the war began, Harry was living in Junee and working as a labourer. Harry was born in Burragorang c1877. He then enlisted in the AIF on the 24th of February 1915 in Liverpool, aged 37. During training, he was allocated to the 19th Battalion as a Private. He boarded the HMAT Ceramic in Melbourne on the 25th of June 1915 for war service. Here, he hopefully got to say goodbye to his sister, Ethel, whom had moved to Victoria years before.

Harry landed in Egypt, and left to join his unit on the Gallipoli Peninsula in mid August. As a blizzard hit the coast during the winter, Harry reported ill on the 14th of November with pain in his neck and joints. He was then shipped back to Egypt in early January 1916, where the 8th Field Ambulance transported him to No. 2 Australian Casualty Clearing Station. The next day, he was admitted to the 1st Australian Stationary Hospital, suffering with rheumatism, sciatica and lumbago aggravated by the cold weather at Gallipoli. He was subsequently shipped back to Australia for a medical discharge on the 11th of April 1916. He returned to Junee. Surprisingly, at the age of 40, he re-enlisted on the 22nd of January 1918 in Junee. However, his poor health record caught up with him, and his enlistment was cancelled a few days later.