Leslie St. John Brown

On 5 June 1915, ‘Unomi’ of The West Australian reported on the wounding of Leslie St. John Brown: “‘Jack’ Brown, who is only 18 years of age, is an ex-Modern School boy. After, leaving the school he joined the Austral club, but was transferred to Austral Junior last season. It may be interesting to know that this lad is the son of Mr. Harry Brown, who was the first chairman of the W.A.B.F.A, and also the Perth Club We all trust that his son will return safely.” On 16 March 1917 the Western Mail published a profile on the soldier who had attained the rank of Lieutenant by the age of 20, “Among the illustrations in this issue is a portrait of Lieutenant. Leslie. St. John Brown, who received his commission during the fighting at Pozieres, in France. He is the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Brown, of South Perth. Lieutenant Brown entered Blackboy Hill camp in January, 1915, when 18 years of age, and sailed for Egypt in February as a private with the 3rd reinforcements of the now famous 16th Battalion. On arrival he volunteered for service with the machine gun section of the regiment, and participated in the memorable landing at Gaba Tepe. Lieutenant Brown was wounded on the night of May 8, and was invalided to Tantah Hospital in Egypt for a month. He returned to Gallipoli, remaining there until the evacuation. Upon returning to Egypt he was transferred to the 48th Battalion, and was promoted to the rank of corporal. He passed through a Lewis machine gun school at Zietoun with distinction, and received another stripe. He took part in the march from Tel-el-Keber to Sarapium, and on Anzac Day was presented by the general in command with ribbons—a red ribbon for the landing , and a blue ribbon for the evacuation. Lieutenant Brown was through the whole of the Pozieres fight. His lieutenant being killed he was promoted to his commission the next day, and has been and is still in command of the machine gun section. After two years almost continual service he was granted leave in London recently, Lieutenant Brown’s father served as a trooper in South Africa from 1883 to 1887, in the Cape Mounted Rifles.” A few months earlier his father had mistakenly received news of his Jack’s death in France and was relieved when military authorities confirmed that he was still with his unit and had not sustained any casualty. Jack Brown did not resume with the Austral club upon his return from war, instead he went into a failed agricultural venture which landed him and his ex-soldier partners in court on charges of stealing sheep and six tons of galvanised fencing wire. After a protracted series of trials, the now insurance surveyor was found not guilty. In 1934, his first wife of 11 years, Maud Halpin successfully filed for divorce after a private investigator found him in bed with another woman. The following year Leslie St. John Brown married Evelyn Corteen and shortly after moved to Melbourne. He died in in 1979 at the age of 83.