3193 PTE A. BROWN. K.O.R.L.R.  (alias Harold Brierley)

I am grateful to Janet Davis for her detective work in discovering the alias under which Harold enlisted.

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Harold Brierley was born first quarter of 1900 and baptised at Preston St Paul’s on 25 March 1900.   His father was Samuel Brierley (b. 1870 in Preston), a cellar man by trade, having previously worked at the Railway Hotel on Butler Street.  His mother was Jane Ellen Williams (b. 1870 in Dawley Salop, Shropshire).  Samuel and Jane Ellen were married in Preston in 1893 and had 10 children, sadly 6 of whom died in infancy, leaving Harold and his three sisters, Alice (b. 1897), Daisy Doris (b. 1898), and Ellen (b. 1902).  According to the standards of the time, daughters are not worth mentioning in newspaper articles…

In 1915, Harold was working as a grocer’s assistant, to a Mr Brewer on Friargate.  He was living with his parents at 63 (not 64, as the article states) Ribblebank Street, Preston.  On 17 March 1915, Harold tried to enlist with the Royal Field Artillery and was given service number 3449.  He claimed to be 19 years and 1 month old.  He was 5’ 4” tall and had a 34” chest.  However, he must have been ‘rumbled’ as 4 days later, at Lytham, he was discharged.  Undaunted, and clearly a very resourceful and persistent lad, a couple of weeks later he turned to the King’s (Royal Lancaster Regiment) and enlisted with them, using the alias Albert Brown.  He was posted to 1/4Bn with service number 3193 and later attached to 164 Machine Gun Company.