Second Lieutenant Lewis Appleby Le Brun
3rd Battalion, Hampshire Regiment attached 11th Battalion, Prince Albert’s (Somerset Light Infantry)
Killed in Action
Date of Birth: 1896
Place of Birth: Poole, Dorset
Date of Death: 31 October 1918 aged 22
Buried: Ramegnies Churchyard and reburied in Tournai Communal Cemetery Allied Extension. Remembered on Seafront Memorial and St. James' Church Memorial Window, Teignmouth, Devon.
Croix de Guerre
AWM
Awarded the Croix de Guerre (Bel) and Chevalier of the Order of the Crown (Bel), the British War Medal and the Victory Medal
Second Lieutenant Lewis Appleby Le Brun age 22.
Born 1896 in Poole, the only son of Lewis (RN ret.) and Isabella Le Brun. In 1901 the family were living at Longfleet, Poole and in the 1911 census Lewis was shown with his parents and sister living at Ivy Dene, Brimley, Teignmouth. His mother was the district nurse at Teignmouth. He had attended Newton Grammar School, later he worked in Lloyds Bank.
Lewis served as a private with the Royal Fusiliers, service number GS/19772, he was wounded at the beginning of 1917. He was later commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant with 3rd Battalion, Hampshire Regiment. At some stage he was awarded the Croix de Guerre (Bel) and Chevalier of the Order of the Crown (Bel), but details relating to these awards are not available.
Hampshire Regiment
Cap Badge
Lewis was attached to 11th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry when he was killed in action, his date of death was later reported as 31 October 1918*.
He was originally buried in Ramegnies Churchyard and reburied inTournai Communal Cemetery Allied Extension. Remembered on Seafront Memorial and St. James' Church Memorial Window, Teignmouth.
Grave Inscription reads: "Dearly Loved and Only Son".
*Original German burial documents show his date of death as 23 October but later British ones show 31 October. The 11th Somersets having taken Lille were fighting near Templeure where they had many casualties around 23 - 26 October. The regiment was withdrawn on 26 October into billets.
The Belgian War Cross (Croix de Guerre) was established on 25 October 1915. Criteria: Bronze Croix de Guerre [Belgium] Belgium's only decoration awarded for "acts of war." During World War I, the bronze, silver or silver-gilt War Cross was awarded by the commander of the army for acts of bravery in the face of the enemy.
NEWS ITEM in Jersey Evening Post of Thursday 14 November 1918
"Roll of Honour. News has been received of the death in action in Belgium on 31 October last of 2nd Lieutenant L A Le Brun of the Hampshire Regiment attached to the Somersets. The deceased officer was the only son of Mr Lewis Le Brun of Poole and nephew of Paymaster Captain W H Le Brun of HMS Victory and Sans Ennui, St Aubin. He enlisted at the age of 19 in the Royal Fusiliers and was wounded at the Battle of the Somme, after gaining an OTC qualification he was gazetted 2nd Lieutenant in the Hampshires in May of this year, and was attached to the Somerset Light Infantry for service in France. He was only 22."
Lewis died 11 days before the Armistice.
