Trooper SW Brown (1st Life guards)

[PascalMallet]

Searching for my grand-father's grave (he was recorded as missing on Nov. 12th, 1914), I found out he's resting in a German cemetery because he was first wounded and healed by Germans.

 

With his remains rest about 20 other French and one English whose name is SW (or maybe JW) Brown, dead on Nov. 22nd, 1914. He was first buried in Comines (France) and now rests in St-Laurent-Blangy (German cemetery!) as all bodies in Comines have been moved in early 1960's.

 

I attach a note written when they open mass graves (FC 98 = mass grave #98) in Comines where he is told to serve in 1st Life Guards ("Sold. Anglais" = "English soldier" with another text I don't understand). He was wounded during First battle of Ypres and I checked that 1st Life Guards was fighting there. He now has his name engraved at St-Laurent.

 

Pascal Mallet

 

[LDT006]

Pascal,

 

very interesting, a British soldier buried in a German cemetery at Comines and no records for him at CWGC:

I can't find a Brown casualty from the 1st Life Guards for those dates and the handwritten initials do indeed look more like JW than SW, the "S" from "Sold. Anglais" is totally different.

 

The ICRC records have this entry for a Brown J W with matching details for that handwritten entry:

 

 

There's also this one wich is the same but it seems as the W initial in the above has been added in error.

 

 

The date, location, regiment and company "Schwad D" match with the handwritten entry, "Schwad D" is german for D company (group, team, patrol, squadron..)

 

The only matching entry at CWGC for a Brown J with a special memorial for a lost grave at Comines is this one:

http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/160254/BROWN, J

 

It seems that some errors were made with the regiment and initials but it's the best I could find.

 

Regards,

Luc.