Sir Thomas Brown (1705–1746) was born in

Kirkleatham Kirkleatham is an area of Redcar in the Borough of Redcar and Cleveland in North Yorkshire, England. It is approximately north-northwest of Guisborough, and south of Redcar centre. It was listed in the Domesday Book. The area has a collectio ...

, in present-day Redcar and Cleveland, in the

north-east The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

region of England. He was a

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...

of the Battle of Dettingen (27 June 1743), in

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

; the last time that a British monarch, in this case King George II, personally led his own country's troops into battle.

Biography

Little is known of his early life, save for him being a shoemaker's

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

Yarm Yarm, also referred to as Yarm-on-Tees, is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. It was previously a port town before the industry moved down the River Tees to more accessible settlements ne ...

, before joining the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. Once

enlisted Enlisted may refer to: * Enlisted rank An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or ...

, Brown fought as a

private soldier A private is a soldier, usually with the lowest rank in many armies. Soldiers with the rank of Private may be conscripts or they may be professional (career) soldiers. The term derives from the medieval term "private soldiers" (a term still us ...

in King's Own Regiment Dragoons (Bland's Dragoons). During this battle, he had two horses killed under him. In the thick of the action, Brown witnessed the regiment's standard falling to the ground and was captured by the French. Brown attempted to dismount his horse to recover the standard, but was struck by a blow from a

sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

and lost two fingers from his left hand. His horse bolted in fright to the rear of the enemy lines, where Brown subsequently caught sight of his standard in the hands of a French trooper. Brown reclaimed the standard after killing the enemy soldier, remounted a horse, secured his regiments' standard by wedging its

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

staff between himself and the

saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kno ...

, and returned to his own by galloping through the massed ranks of the enemy. During this return, Brown was further wounded by the French, receiving eight sabre cuts in his face, neck and head, and lost most of his nose as a result. Brown diced with death; two

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...

bullets hit his back, and three passed through his headgear. Returning to his own company a hero, he was applauded with 'three loud Huzzas' in recognition of his valiant bravery. After his army service, Brown retired from the 3rd Hussars, whereupon he was rewarded by King George II with a gold-topped walking stick, a replica nose made of silver to replace his he lost in

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, and a King's pension of 30

crowns A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

(£30) a year. Brown moved to

and opened an

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

bearing his own name, where he lived out the remainder of his life. Brown died in

in , and is buried there in the churchyard of St Mary Magdalene's Church (OS grid ref: NZ416129). His grave can still be seen and is now marked with a

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...

replica of a

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

(CWGC) headstone, presented by the

Queen's Own Hussars The Queen's Own Hussars (QOH), was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, formed from the amalgamation of the 3rd The King's Own Hussars and the 7th Queen's Own Hussars at Candahar Barracks, Tidworth in 1958. The regiment served in Aden and Nor ...

in 1968.

Honours

The Battle of Dettingen is notable for two things: it was the last time a British monarch personally led his troops into battle, and the last time a serving soldier was knighted on the battlefield. Tom Brown was knighted as a

Knight Banneret A knight banneret, sometimes known simply as banneret, was a medieval knight ("a commoner of rank") who led a company of troops during time of war under his own banner (which was square-shaped, in contrast to the tapering standard or the penn ...

by the King at the end of the battle for his actions, as noted in ''The London Magazine, and Monthly Chronologer'' as "the Trooper who retook the Standard from the French". This is believed to be the last time a sovereign conferred the title Knight Bannerets to troops on the field of battle. It is recorded that the King created sixteen Knights Bannerets on the battlefield in a diary entry by Miss Gertrude Savile, which states "This honour had been laid aside since James I, when Baronets were instituted".The Complete Peerage (1913) by George Cokayne

Legacy

Brown's inn once contained an oil-painted sign which depicted him as the hero of the Battle of Dettingen. This sign is now lost, but a replica is located in Yarm Town Hall.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Tom 1705 births People from Redcar and Cleveland People from Yarm 3rd The King's Own Hussars soldiers British Army personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession 1746 deaths