ALISTAIR NORMAN BROWN
2nd November 1886 – 24th August 1918
Alistair, or Norman as he was known, was the son of Archibald Brown, who was born in Ness,
Inverness in 1850 and was a Bank Manager. His wife was Alice Georgina Astle, born in 1863 in
Camberwell. Norman had two brothers; William Reid Brown, born in Herefordshire in 1889 and
Archibald Campbell , born in 1891 in Ledbury
According to 1891 census the family are living in High Street Ledbury, and by 1901 census the
family had moved to 107 Plymouth Road. From verbal history we are told that Mr & Mrs Brown
were Red Cross workers and Mrs Brown had connections with Canada. Plymouth Road in the early
1900s was a very affluent area with steamship owners, coalmining officials and such like living
there: nearly all the houses retained servants to assist with basic household tasks.
There is no trace of Norman in the UK 1911 census, but Alice Georgina was still at 107 Plymouth
Road with the younger sons, William, who was an Assistant Furnace Superintendent in the Iron
Works and Archibald who was a Clerk for Coal Exporting Company. Their father, Norman, was
away from home, staying at the Strand Place Hotel in London.
We have records of Norman arriving in Canada in 1905 and giving his profession as Accountant,
living in Toronto West. He was married on 14th October 1908 to Etheleen Clara Weitzel, and they
had one child ,a boy, Wartha F Brown. He signed up on the 2nd September 1915 and served with
the Central Ontario Regiment 4th Canadian Rifles Battalion as a Lieutenant.
(Canadian Rifles Battalion)