Brothers at War

This is the introduction to a series of guest blogs written by University of Huddersfield students Millie Denton and Laura Sharp.

Brothers at War is a compilation of blog posts about the Brown brothers who each had very different experiences during the First World War. The research that inspired these posts came from letters written to Robert Broughton Brown from Fred, Frank and Tom during the First World War, now stored in the South Pennine Archives. The Brown family owned a number of mills throughout Leeds and Hebden Bridge, with each brother being employed by the business, R. B. Brown & Sons. The company was founded by their grandfather in the late 1800s in Hebden Bridge and produced textiles and clothes. The following blog posts focuses on these brothers, with one post every week until Remembrance Sunday – click on the name of each member of the family to find out more:

Robert (Bert, as he is referred to in the letters) was the eldest of the brothers; he remained home during the war to run the family business. All the brothers were involved in the family business in some capacity prior to, during and after the war. Bert, though, had the most influence being the senior manager. During the war Bert would frequently send supplies to his brothers stationed in France. He also ran the family business and looked after his brother’s family, all while maintaining his membership as a Freemason. All the letters used in these blog posts are letters sent from the brothers to Bert during and following the war.

Fred was the second eldest of the brothers and held a senior management position in the family business prior to the war. He received a draft exemption for a time until he joined the war effort in 1916 as part of the Infantry. However, Fred was moved to the Labour Corps in 1917, a non-combatant sector due to injury, where he remained until the end of the war. Fred’s article will explore what it was like in the Labour Corps and provide an insight into draft exceptions.

Frank was a clothier prior to the First World War working at the family-owned textile mill at Hebden Bridge. Throughout the war he was a part of the 3rd Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment where he travelled around England and France being a part of the reserve regiment. In 1917 Frank injured his knee, meaning that he spent the rest of the war in and out of hospitals receiving treatment. In his letters he talks in detail about the treatment he received throughout the war and the months following. Frank survived the war reuniting with his wife in November 1918, however he struggled with pain long after the war.

Tom was the youngest of the brothers and spent most of his time throughout the war in the trenches at the Western Front. He fought in the German Spring Offensive with the British Expeditionary Force where he was injured and sent back to Britain for the rest of the war. Following the war, Tom struggled with his mental and physical health, resulting in him receiving medical treatment for Shell Shock. Throughout his struggles his brothers were by his side sending letters asking about his wellbeing and recovery. Surviving the war, he married and worked as a clothier until his death in 1949.