814 Private Stanley Robert BROWNING 1889-1916, Killed in Action, 25 Battalion

Stanley Robert BROWNING was born in Helidon Queensland. He served at Gallipoli and was killed in action during an attack on Pozieres. His body has not been recovered.

Life before Enlistment

Born in 1889 to Richard BROWNING and Eliza GOMME (my 2x Great Grandparents) in Helidon, Queensland. Stanley’s mother, Eliza, died in 1890 when he was just 7 months old. He was the youngest of 5 children. His oldest brother, Richard Josias Browning, who was just 6 when their mother died. Eliza died from haemoptysis which is the coughing of blood which may have indicated bronchitis, tuberculosis or lung cancer.

Letters held on service records show that Stanley’s aunt, Isabella, helped Stanley’s father raise his children as well as her own children. Isabella was married to Samuel Frazier and had 3 children of their own.

Enlistment and onto Gallipoli and France

Stanley enlisted in the AIF on 12 Feb 1915. He was a 25 year old labourer and his father was living in Crows Nest. His father was listed as his next of kin. He joined the newly raised 25th Australian Infantry Battalion at Enoggera, Queensland as part of the 7th Brigade. I remember the 25th battalion marching on ANZAC Day when I was a child and did not know the family connection. The battalion exists today as an Army Reserve headquartered in Toowoomba.

On 29 Jun 1915, just over a month since the ANZAC landing, Stanley and his new comrades in arms boarded the HMAT Aeneas. 1602 Corporal Sydney Griffith 1890-1918 (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Griffith-11857). Sydney was killed in action the year following Stanley’s own death. I don’t know if they knew each other before or after the journey to Gallipoli but both served in 25 Battalion.

The soldiers headed to Egypt and underwent further training in July 1916 and arrived at Gallipoli in early September 1915. Stanley arrived at the Gallipoli trenches on 4 Sep 1915 and was wounded 8 days later. He sustained a gun shot wound to the leg on 12 Sep 1915 and evacuated to the hospital ship HMHS Nevasa. This was a 660 bed hospital. He was then sent onto a 2 Australian General Hospital a week later. He was discharged to a month later to Mena House. Stanley’s father, Richard, died whilst Stanley was recovering from wounds. Richard died on 28 Oct 1916 from a cerebral tumour. Stanley re-joined the battalion on the peninsula on 11 Nov 1915 which was 2 weeks after his father’s death. It is unlikely that he knew about his father’s death by the time he re-joined the battalion. The ANZACs withdrew from the peninsula two months later and Stanley arrived in Alexandria on 9 Jan 1916 aboard the Hororata troop ship.

Stanley’s brother, Richard, enlisted on 28 Dec 1915. Richard was Stanley’s oldest brother. Richard (28 Private Richard Browning 1883-1963 WikiTree) had served in the Boer War. Richard survived WWI.

Stanley would have spent time training with his mates around Alexandria until the Australian’s left for the Western Front. Stanley arrived in France on 19 Mar 1916 and then went AWOL (Absent Without Leave) for 4 days from 21:00 hr 20 Mar 1916 until 07:00 hrs on 24 Mar 1916. He was awarded 7 days field punishment No.2. Field Punishment No.2 was the lesser of two possible outcomes as No. 1 field punishment meant the soldier was restrained to a fixed object. I have found that many Gallipoli veterans took advantage of the arrival in France to go AWOL to enjoy the sights and a few drinks!

Stanley continued soldiering and served in the frontline. The battalion’s first major battle was at Pozieres which started on 25 Jul 1916. 25 Bn was part of the 2nd Division which was ordered to capture Pozieres heights. The attack started at 12:15 AM on 29 Jul 1916. The Germans were ready and there were 3,500 Australian casualties. Stanley was reported as killed in action by Private Percy Hawtin, another soldier of D Coy 25 Bn. Hawtin describes the death as: “Browning was killed by a shell about 2:00 AM on the 29th July 1916 in No Man’s Land during the attack on the ridge in front of Mouquet Farm. I saw him lying in No Man’s Land. He was badly knocked about and must have been killed outright. I do not know what happened to the body. Browning came over with the original battalion in the “Anaeus”. I understand he came from Helidon, near Toowoomba, Queensland.” Stanley was described as fair and well built.

Private Hawtin was wounded some months later and eventually returned to Australia for discharge. His service record can be found at the National Australian Archives.

Stanley’s body has never been recovered.

A Grave Known Unto God

Stanley is commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Somme. He is also memorialised at the Helidon War Memorial and the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour.

Family Military Connections

Stanley had several cousins and other relatives serve in WWI and WWII. These include:

• Richard Browning (Brother)
• William Wyatte (Cousin)
• Frederick Phillips (Cousin)

A total of 7 of my family network served in 25 Battalion including 2 who were part of the WWII CMF incarnation of the battalion which served at Milne Bay.

Family Tree Connections

Stanley is my maternal 2 x Great Uncle. We are 4 Wiki-degrees apart. Stanley is my Great Grandfather’s brother who is the father of my grandmother.

Genealogy Research Notes

There are an increasing number of online resources for researching World War I veterans. The resources that I have found the most valuable are:

• Australian War Memorial – getting basic enlistment, embarkation, Red Cross, unit war diaries and other records
• National Archives of Australia for digitised copies of original service records
• Virtual War Memorial Australia – finding memorials and other information relating to service
• Trove – killed in action and other information
• WikiTree – for finding and ‘soliciting’ for information on the veteran and working out degrees of separation
  

Sources:

1. WikiTree contributors, “Stanley Robert Browning (1889-1916),” WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Browning-6559 : accessed 22 November 2022).
2. NAA, Service Records, 814 Browning Stanley Robert, Accessed 15 Apr 2023, https://bit.ly/3A0ecAt
3. AIF Project, Stanley Robert Browning, Accessed 15 Apr 2023, https://aif.adfa.edu.au/aif/showPerson?pid=36556
4. 1917 ‘The Roll of Honour.’, The Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 – 1939), 25 August, p. 15. , viewed 15 Apr 2023, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article22341855
5. CWGC, 814 Stanley Robert Browning, Accessed 15 Apr 2023, https://bit.ly/409nFQO
6. VWMA, 814 Stanley Robert Browning, Accessed 15 Apr 2023, https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/222037
7. AWM Roll of Honour 814 PTE Stanley Robert Browning Panel 103, Accessed 15 Apr 2023, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1678870
8. Australian Red Cross, 814 PTE Stanley Robert Browning, Accessed 15 Apr 2023, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1480644
9. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16180527/stanley-robert-browning: accessed 15 April 2023), memorial page for Pvt Stanley Robert Browning (15 Sep 1890–29 Jul 1916).
10. Family Search, Stanley Robert Browning, Accessed 15 Apr 2023, https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LYRX-WL7