Reginald Spencer Browne (1856 - 1943)

Born 13 Jul 1856 in Appin, New South Wales (Australia)

Ancestors

Husband of Violet Edith Fanny (Sutton) Browne — married 13 Oct 1881 in Queensland Australia

Husband of Catherine Fraser (Munro) Browne — married 7 Aug 1889 in Queensland Australia

Died 9 Nov 1943 at age 87 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

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Biography

Reginald Browne is Notable.

Reginald Browne is an Anzac who served in World War One.

Major General Reginald Browne CB was a journalist, newspaper editor, and an Australian General in the First World War.

Born on 13th July 1856 in Appin, New South Wales, Australia, Reginald Spencer Browne was the fifth of nine sons of William James Browne and Rachel Broad. ^[1]

In 1881 he moved to Brisbane and married Violet Edith Fanny Sutton of Maryborough on 13th October. ^[2] She died soon afterwards. On 7th August 1889 he married Catherine Fraser Munro, ^[3] a noted musician and amateur actress. He had been interested primarily in pastimes like polo, shooting and fishing, but henceforth shared wide cultural interests with his wife.

He passed away on 9th November 1943 in Brisbane, Queensland. ^[4][5]

military service

Major General Reginald Browne served in the Australian Imperial Force in World War I
Service started: 16 Mar 1915
Unit(s): 13th Light Horse Regiment, 2nd Division; 6th Infantry Brigade
Service ended: 1918

For his services in the Second Boer War, he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB), awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal with five clasps, and was Mentioned in Despatches. Between wars, Reginald became commanding officer of the 13th Light Horse Regiment with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and, in 1906, he became the commander of the 5th Light Horse Brigade on promotion Colonel. Reginald joined the Australian Imperial Force on 16th March 1915, serving at Gallipoli with the (dismounted) 13th Light Horse Regiment, 2nd Division. In September 1915 he was appointed commander of the 6th Infantry Brigade, serving at Lone Pine and Quinn's Post. At the age of 59, the rigours of the campaign combined with his age began to take its toll. After the evacuation from Gallipoli in December Reginald was posted to various non-conflict assignments, promoted to Brigadier and then to Major General, and was placed on the retired list at the end of the war.

For two years (1921-22) he was State president of the Queensland branch of the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia.

author

Reginald was decorated by the Serbian Government for his publication, "The Heroic Serbians"

Reginald Spencer Browne is arguably best known for as a journalist, newspaper editor and author. During 1915, at Gallipoli, he had published The Heroic Serbians for which he was awarded the Serbian Red Cross. From 1925 to 1927, he contributed weekly articles to the Courier on his memories of people and events in 19th century Queensland. These were collected and published as A Journalist's Memories in 1927. The book is considered a reliable source of much information on the history and legends of Queensland. Reginald Spencer Browne's published works include:

• Romances of Goldfield and Bush (1890)
• The Heroic Serbians : an Appeal for Help (1916)
• A Journalist's Memories (1927)
• The Men of Queensland / Stanley Bruce Kennard: Notes and Recollections by Spencer Browne (1927)
• The Sheep Industry (1942)
• Brisbane Theatre of the Old Days
• Foundation of the Brisbane Courier

Sources

1. ↑ whilst all his siblings' birth regns have been located, Reginald's has not yet been
2. ↑ Queensland Marriage Index #1881/B/7467
3. ↑ Queensland Marriage Index #1889/B/13454
4. ↑ Queensland Death Index #1943/B/63960
5. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #171994809, GEN Reginald Spencer Brown, b. 13 Jul 1856, d. 9 Nov 1943.

See also

• "Johns's Notable Australians, 1906"; Ancestry.com [database on-line]; Johns's Notable Australians 1906. Ridgehaven, South Australia: Gould Genealogy and History, 2007; Reginald Spencer Browne, b. 13 Jul 1856 at Oaklands, Appin, New South Wales.
• H. J. Summers, 'Browne, Reginald Spencer (1856–1943)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-reginald-spencer-5394/text9135, published first in hardcopy 1979, accessed online 23 April 2018.
• Wikipedia:_Reginald_Spencer_Browne; accessed 17 Jun 2018.