TOPIC:

ST. DENYS CHURCH,
WARMINSTER,
WEST WILTSHIRE,
ENGLAND.

OS GRID REFERENCE: ST870450



Located within the church, the memorial tablet has Tudor ornaments at each corner surmounted with the Prince of Wales features surrounded by acanthus and the motto "ICH DIEN".

Inscription as follows:

"IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF

THOMAS AUSTIN BROWN,
WHO FELL IN ACTION IN THE ORANGE RIVER COLONY.
AUGUST 20TH 1900.

ALSO OF EDWARD THOMAS HILL,
WHO DIED OF FEVER AT HARRISMITH.
DECEMBER 6TH 2900.

ALSO OF GEORGE JAMES BUTCHER,
WHO DIED OF FEVER AT MOOI RIVER.
FEBRUARY 6TH 1900.

ALSO OF THOMAS RUGG,
WHO DIED OF FEVER AND WAS BURIED AT SEA BEYOND LAS PALMAS .
MARCH 4TH 1901.

ALL OF THE WARMINSTER CONTINGENT OF THE WILTSHIRE IMPERIAL YEOMANRY WHO LOVED DUTY MORE THAN HOME OR LIFE.

THIS MEMORIAL IS PLACED BY THEIR COMRADES AND FRIENDS 1902."

"SOON TO FAITHFUL WARRIORS COMES THEIR REST
SWEET IS THE CALM OF PARADISE THE BLEST.
ALLELUIA."

For reference, the church welcomes visitors on open days with parking nearby. The church also has numerous other memorial plaques of local interest, an excellent array of stained glass windows and is well worth a visit if in the area.

156: PRIVATE THOMAS AUSTIN BROWN


Memorial plaque to Private Brown located in the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Upton Scudamore, Wiltshire, England.

Inscribed thus:

"IN LOVING MEMORY OF
THOMAS AUSTIN BROWN
2ND SQDN. WILTSHIRE IY
KILLED IN ACTION NEAR
SENEKAL O.R.C.
20TH AUGUST 1900
AGED 21
"THY WILL BE DONE"

In addition to the plaque previously covered at St. Denys Church in Warminster, and at Upton Scudamore, Private Brown is also commemorated on monument 15 at Senegal where he is interred.

Thomas was born in 1880, the son of George Thomas Brown, a Clerk of Works, and Mary Ann of Ditton Marsh, Wiltshire.
The Census of 1881, finds the family residing at Stormore Coldstream Villa, Westbury, Wiltshire. The family unit was made up of a large number of children with Thomas having four brothers and five sisters.

The Medal Roll WO100/120 informs us that 156 Private T A Brown was entitled to the Queen's South Africa medal with clasps Cape Colony and Wittebergen.

110 PRIVATE EDWARD THOMAS HILL

Born in Warminster, Wiltshire in 1874, it would appear that Edward was born into a family of substantial means and would have been part of the upper echelons of the local business community in Victorian Warminster.
This is supported by the 1881 Census which records the family residence as Woodcock Oak House, Warminster, Wiltshire. Edward's father Mark (35) is described as a timber merchant employing 50 men and 8 boys. This level of business would surely have kept the Hill family in a very acceptable standard of living. The family also comprised of Edward's mother Emma (36), two brothers and five sisters.
1891 has the family now living at Imber Road, Warminster with the merchanting of timber remaining the family business. Edward was by now employed as a Clerk, perhaps he was working for his father?
When the call to arms was made in the shape of an appeal to raise units for the Imperial Yeomanry of Wiltshire, young Edward volunteered to do his patriotic duty. So he embarked upon what he could not have known would be his final adventure to the theatre of war in South Africa to do battle with the two Boer republics.
Private Edward Thomas Hill died of enteric fever on Christmas Day 1900 at Harrismith where he was interred at Harrismith Town Cemetery and his sacrifice commemorated there on monument 5.
So commemorated on the plaque at St. Denys Church in Warminster and at Harrismith, I also found a lead suggesting that there is some form of remembrance at the Church of St. Adeline at Bishopstrow, Wiltshire. As yet, I have no image or further information, but will update this post as and when I am able

Medal Roll WO100/120 for the Wiltshire Imperial Yeomanry confirms Edward's entitlement to the Queen's South Africa medal with clasps Cape Colony and Orange Free State.
No doubt, his parents Mark and Emma would have cherished this parting memento of their dutiful son of the empire.

PTE T.A. BROWN, Senekal Cemetery

Steve - the Warminster newspapers are well covered in on-line Newspaper search facilities.

Searching for Thomas Austin Brown produced two relevant hits.

Warminster & Westbury Journal & Wilts County Advertiser of 21st June 1902. The 14th June 1902 unveiling of the tablet to members of the IY is reported in a very long article with a drawing of the tablet included. See attachment - PDF of the relevant page - afraid the print quality is not good.

Same newspaper on 10th November 1900 contains the following short report:

UPTON SCUDAMORE

The will of Thomas Austin Brown, of Biss Farm, and of the Imperial Yeomanry. who died August 20th at Senekal, has been proved, with personalty of £250

Both Thomas & Edward fit the bill regarding the IY being initially raised for the sons of the middle classes. I wonder if other sons of Warminster & district died in the conflict but their relatively impoverished and less influential parents did not manage to have them commemorated in local places of worship.

SGT GEORGE JAMES BUTCHER, Mooi River Cemetery