Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Six: Sergeant A. Brown, Seaforth Highlanders, who was wounded on the Western Front in 1914, was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, and was twice Mentioned in Despatches for services with the Waziristan Field Force

India General Service 1908-35, 2 clasps, North West Frontier 1908, Waziristan 1919-21 (8427. Corporal A. Brown 1st. Bn. Seaforth Highlanders); 1914 Star, with clasp (8427 Pte. A. Brown. 1/Sea: Highrs.); British War and Victory Medals (8427 Pte. A. Brown. Seaforth.); Army Meritorious Service Medal, G.V.R., 1st issue (8427 Pte. -A.Sjt.- A. Brown 2-Seaforth.); Romania, Kingdom, Cross for Good Service, Second Class, silver, unnamed as issued, very fine and better, the last scarce (6) £600-£800

M.S.M. London Gazette 18 February 1921:
‘In recognition of valuable services rendered in connection with operations of the Waziristan Force.’

Romanian Cross for Good Service Second Class London Gazette 29 September 1922:
‘For distinguished service during the war of 1914-19.’

Alexander Brown was born in Perth, Scotland, on 28 March 1883. A dyer by trade, he attested for the Seaforth Highlanders on 12 September 1900 and served with the 1st Battalion in Egypt from 5 February 1901. Transferred to Nasirabadin, Wazirabad and Nowshera on the North West Frontier of India, Brown was raised Corporal on 7 December 1907, and joined the Zakha Khel expedition. As one of the most powerful sections of the Afridi tribe, the Zakha Khel were famed for their attacks in the Khyber and Bara Valleys during the 1897 Tirah Campaign. By the autumn of 1907, they had branched out into wholesale armed robbery and were proving a menace to any unfortunate who happened to stumble onto their lands.

As autumn turned to winter, British forces began making their way through the Khyber to Ali Masjid, via a series of very bad tracks. Taken by surprise, the Zakha Khel were unable to unite into a large force and reverted to long-range sniping; small skirmishes occurred, but the experienced Highlanders and men of the 45th and 54th Sikhs gave them rough handling, the enemy very soon realising the futility of resistance. Returned to Jamrod in heavy rain, the troops barely had time to wash and replenish their supplies when reports came in of signs of unrest in Mohmand country to the north west of Peshawar. On 22-23 April 1908, the tribesmen made a determined attack on the posts at Matta and Garhi Sadar, causing 62 British casualties. In retaliation, the Seaforth Highlanders marched up the Bohai Dag valley and engaged with the enemy all day on 18 May 1908, causing significant casualties. On 28 May 1908, they pressed on against the Baizais and destroyed villages and towns as far as the border, the Seaforth Highlanders losing seven men killed in action.

Promoted Sergeant on 25 February 1912, Brown left Agra on 21 September 1914 and landed in Marseilles for service in France as part of the Dehra Dun Brigade (19th Indian Brigade) of the 7th (Meerut) Division. Remaining with the 1st Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders, he was heavily engaged on the Western Front before receiving a gunshot wound to the hip that necessitated evacuation to Boulogne and on to Fort George, near Inverness, on 14 November 1914. A series of garrison postings followed at Cromarty, before Brown returned to India for service in Waziristan. Placed on detachment with the Command and Staff of the 2nd Battalion, working on lines of communication, Brown was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 1921. His work was further recognised by two ‘mentions’, the first by General Sir. C. C. Munro on 10 June 1921: ‘for distinguished service during operations in Waziristan 1919-20’; the second on 1 June 1923 by General Lord Rawlinson of Trent: ‘for distinguished service during operations in Waziristan 1920-21’.

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