Son of Mr. Matthew and Harriet Brown, of Greenwood Park, near Durban. ref. South African Roll of Honour 1914-1918
2nd Bar LG Sup 16 Sept 1918 - "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. This officer, who was acting as second in command of a company, got together a bombing party and crept forward to recapture some machine guns we had been obliged to abandon the previous night during a strong surprise attack by the enemy. On reaching the enemy forward posts they came under their machine-gun and snipers' fire, but pushing forward with great determination he led his men on till they reached the positions which had been previously abandoned, having gone to a distance of about 600 yards beyond the enemy's outpost line. They brought back the guns and wounded. The cool and fearless manner in which Lt. Brown led his men under heavy fire was one of the chief factors in the complete success of the enterprise." 1st Bar LG Sup 26 July 1918 - "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in keeping his guns in .action for several hours, in spite of intense shell and machine-gun fire. He was untiring in his devotion to duty, and missed no targets that offered on his front and flanks. The action of his section greatly heartened the infantry and harassed the enemy, who made no headway" MC LG Sup 23 April 1918 - "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty under fire when in command of a section of machine guns. He handled his guns boldly and took command of a number of men of .another unit who had lost their officers, and helped to reorganise them for defence."
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K.M. Jordan — DLI research (ABW / WWI ROH)
K.M. Jordan, Durban Light Infantry: WWI Roll of Honour ("Work in Progress" draft, July/Aug 2026; email to John/Bobby, 3 Sep 2026). Local file data/jordan_dli_wwi_roh_2026-08.pdf (Downloads: "1. Durban Light Infantry WWI ROH - July, Aug 2026.pdf"). WWI ROH #15. Lieutenant BROWN, Sylvester Samuel M.C. & 2 bars., age 27, Force No , London Regiment (Queen Victoria's Rifles): Born Greytown, Natal 3/3/1891; employed as a commercial traveller before enlistment; served with the Durban Light Infantry in GSWA 1914-1915; travelled overseas & enlisted with the Inns of Court O.T.C in September 1915; served with the 9th Battalion on the Western Front; attached to the Machine Gun Corps; killed in action in Belgium. Buried/commemorated: Pozieres Memorial to the Missing, Somme, France. (Also, on ‘The Greenwood Park, Redhill & Avoca’ in Redhill Cemetery, Durban North; the Durban Light Infantry & the Durban Cenotaph WWI Memorials.)
- South African War Graves Project open source ↗
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