Private Harry Brown VC
10th Canadian Infantry Battalion
(P. Ferguson image, September 2005)

Hill 70: Action of 16 August 1917
No inscription on marker

For most conspicuous bravery, courage and devotion to duty. After the capture of a position, the enemy massed in force and counter-attacked. The situation became very critical, all wires being cut. It was of the utmost importance to get word back to Headquarters. This soldier and one other were given the message with orders to deliver the same at all costs. The other messenger was killed. Private Brown had his arm shattered but continued on through an intense barrage until he arrived at the close support lines and found an officer. He was so spent that he fell down the dug-out steps, but retained consciousness long enough to hand over his message, saying ‘ Important message.’ He then became unconscious and died in the dressing station a few hours later [17 August 1917]. His devotion to duty was of the highest possible degree imaginable, and his successful delivery of the message undoubtedly saved the loss of the position for the time and prevented many casualties.

Brown marker at Noeux-les-Mines Communal Cemetery, Age 19.
(P. Ferguson image, September 2005)

Much of my time on the Western Front has been spent on the Ypres Salient, the Somme and at Vimy. Twenty-five minutes north of Vimy is Noeux-les-Mines Communal Cemetery and in 2005 our car journey took us to some of the sites in the vicinity of Hill 70. This visit, well prior to the dedication of the Hill 70 Memorial in October 2019 and one that I will need to see. Noeux-les-Mines Communal Cemetery is about 20 minutes away from the new memorial. Spending observational time on any of these landscapes provides the scanning eye with glimpses into this past of conflict and hurried souls. As much as I search for today’s peace within the conflict, I cannot help but see (as mentioned sometime previous) the conflict in the peace. At Noeux-les-Mines we find two Canadian VC burials – Brown’s burial (II.J.29) and that of Major Learmonth’s burial (II.K.9)

Major Okill Massey Learmonth VC MC
2nd Canadian Infantry Battalion (Eastern Ontario)
(Wiki Image)

Hill 70 east of Loos: Action of 18 August 1917
HE COUNTED NOT HIS LIFE DEAR UNTO HIMSELF

For most conspicuous bravery and exceptional devotion to duty. During a determined counter-attack on our new positions, this officer, when his company was momentarily surprised, instantly charged and personally disposed of the attackers. Later he carried on a tremendous fight with the advancing enemy. Although under intense barrage fire and mortally wounded, he stood on the parapet of the trench, and bombed the enemy continuously and directed the defence in such a manner as to infuse a spirit of utmost resistance into his men. On several occasions this very brave officer actually caught bombs thrown at him by the enemy and threw them back. When he was unable by reason of his wounds to carry on the fight he still refused to be carried out of the line, and continued to give instructions and invaluable advice to his junior officers, finally handing over all his duties before he was evacuated from the front line to the hospital where he died [19 August 1917].

Learmonth marker at Noeux-les-Mines Communal Cemetery, France, Age 23.
(P. Ferguson image, September 2005)

So too this day brought us together with the French Memorial of Notre Dame de Lorette (Ablain-St.-Nazaire French Military Cemetery) a rising ridge above the Douai plain and Arras, France, 165 metres in height. Here the church, markers and ossuary reside as if painted on the landscape – the colours delivered by the images taken, an astonishing and other worldly setting. Beauty, suffering, loss, deep felt and cascading memories reside here. More than 40,000 Great War soldiers remains are held by this ground…the French national commemoration of loss in the Great War.

Helpful Links
VC Online – Pte. Brown

VC Online – Major Learmonth

Notre Dame de Lorette (Ablain-St.-Nazaire French Military Cemetery).
(P. Ferguson image, September 2005)

Tags: 10th Canadian Infantry Battalion, 16 August 1917, 17 August 1917, 18 August 1917, 19 August 1917, 2nd Canadian Infantry Battalion, Ablain-St.-Nazaire French Military Cemetery, Harry Brown VC, Hill 70, Noeux-les-Mines Communal Cemetery, Notre Dame de Lorette, Okill Massey Learmonth VC MC, Posthumous Victoria Cross

This entry was posted by pferguson on Sunday, November 6th, 2022 at 8:48 am and is filed under November Series, Remember Them Well. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.