b. 10/04/1879 Fulham, London. d. 27/02/1966 Ashtead, Surrey.
DATE OF AM ACTION: 21/09/1913 Chungking, China.
Walter R Brown AM
Walter Russell Brown was born in Fulham, London on 10th April 1879, the son of Walter Edward Brown. He had a distinguished career in the consular service in China, where he spent his whole career, beginning as a student in 1901, where he was an interpreter. He was the last recipient of the Albert Medal (Civilian) before the First World War. In 1908 he married Helen Maud Armstrong. He retired as a Consul General in 1932, having just been made a CBE in the New Years Honours List of 1931. He returned to England on retirement, and was JP for Devon from 1943-1948.
AM CITATION:
On the 21st September, 1913, when fierce street fighting was raging in the City of Chungking, Mr. Brown, assisted by his French colleague, Monsieur Bodard, in response to a message from the Chamber of Commerce, acted as intermediary between the two forces, and succeeded in bringing about a suspension of the hostilities. Both the officers ran great risk, as they were frequently exposed to the firing of the troops, and but for their prompt intervention it is probable that the fighting would have resulted in one body of troops being exterminated and the City, which contains a population of between 300,000 and 400,000 inhabitants, many of them British subjects, being pillaged and burnt to the ground.
BURIAL LOCATION: UNKNOWN.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: PRIVATELY HELD.
Acknowledgement:
Allan Stanistreet – Image of Walter Brown AM.