James Valentine Brown was born in Ballarat and was an Advertising Agent when he enlisted in the 8th Infantry Battalion on 11 November 1915 at the age of 26. His unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A14 Euripides on 4 April 1916. He sailed from Melbourne on the Euripides on April 4th 1916, first to England, then, in September, he joined the 8th Battalion on the battlefields of Belgium. In July 1918, like many other soldiers, he was hospitalised with influenza, but otherwise seemed to come through the war without significant physical injury despite having seen action in some of the major battles on the Western Front. He returned to Australia on the Soudan, disembarking at Melbourne on June 29th 1919.

Tree No. 1952