Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Private

Unit:

The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)

Awarded on:

May 12th, 1942

Citation:
"In May, 140, Private Brown's unit withdrew to Caudebec, North of the Somme, where as the result of heavy enemy pressure and a lack of ammunition, they were ordered to split up and fend for themselves. Private Brown made his way alone and on foot to le Havre, Trouville and Deauville in order to search for a boat. Failing in this, he went to St. Etienne where he worked on a farm for two months. Having been advised to leave by the local police, he set off for the South West, but as he was still in uniform he did not get far before he was arrested by a German patrol. - At the end of July, whilst being marched Eastwards ina column of French prisoners, he escaped by dashing trough a hedge near Caudebec. He procured civilian clothes from a nearby farm and started walking South, taking his bearings from the sun. With the assitance of a young French Farmer, whose land lay on the boundary, he crossed the Line of Demarcation near Tours in October, when he promptly gave himself up to the Police at the French frontier post. - He was then escorted to Ford St. Jean, Marseilles, wher he was detained until the 8th January, 1941, when the prsioners where transferred to St. Hippolyte, Nimes. A month later, with four others, he climbed a wall early in the morning and got clear of the camp and made his way by train to Spain, where he was arrested at Figueras. After spending three months in a concentration camp at Miranda, he was sent to Gibraltar for repatriation."

LG 35556/2072
The London Gazette mentions that after his return he was made a Gunner and was transferred to the Royal Regiment of Artillery.