William Frederick Brown was born on 13 June 1897 in Lingfield, Surrey, his birth being registered in the 3rd quarter of 1897 in the Godstone registration district, Surrey.
He married Adelaide Mary Charlotte Bellinger (1893-1984), the marriage being registered in the 4th quarter of 1923 in the Portsmouth registration district, Hampshire.
In February 1937 he was appointed as a sorter in the London Postal Region and on 27 July 1937 he was graded as a postman remaining in the London Postal Region.
He served in the Royal Marines, service number PO/18089, and was attached to HMS Cormorant, the Gibraltar shore based establishment. He died, aged 44 years, on 19 August 1941 whilst aboard the S.S. Aguila that was sailing from Liverpool to Gibraltar as part of Convoy OG71, when his ship was torpedoed by the German submarine U-201 and was sunk about 600 nautical miles west of the Island of Ushant, France. Details are on the S.S. Aguila Wikipedia page.
As he has no known grave he is commemorated on Panel 58, Column 3 of the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Clarence Esplanade, Southsea, Portsmouth, PO5 3NT. He is also commemorated in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's website and on Page 36 of the Post Office Fellowship of Remembrance's World War Two Book of Remembrance.
Credit for this entry to: Andrew Behan.
