Reginald Claude Browne

First Name: 
Reginald
Middle Name: 
Claude
Last Name: 
Browne
Date of Birth: 
Tuesday, May 23, 1899
Mother's Name: 
Susan Matilda nee Beatus
Father's Name: 
Frederick William Browne
Date Enlisted: 
Tuesday, May 4, 1915
Rank at Enlistment: 
Boy
Rank at Discharge: 
Stoker
Unit: 
HMAS Huon
Service: 
Royal Australian Navy
Awards: 
British War Medal
Victory Medal
Date of Death: 
Saturday, October 26, 1918
Place of Death: 
Genoa, Italy
Cause of Death: 
Pneumonic influenza
Details: 

Reginald Browne (Service No 4854) was born in Wollongong, N.S.W. and lived at nearby Port Kembla when he enlisted for 7 years in the Royal Australian Navy.

Reginald was posted to HMAS Huon, a River Class Torpedo Boat Destroyer, in 1917.

The Huon was the first RAN Ship to be built in Australia at the Cockatoo Dockyard in Sydney.  The Huon was sent to the Mediterranian in 1917 and was engaged in patrols there.  Reginald Browne was a stoker on board and one of a crew of 69, one of whom was his older brother Ernest, also a stoker.

On 8th August 1918 the Huon was involved in a collision with HMAS Yarra and went into dry dock in Genoa for repairs.  While in Genoa the crew were struck down with influenza and 5 crew members died, 2 of whom were Reginald and his brother Ernest.  They died within days of each other.

Both brothers are buried in Staglieno Cemetery, Genoa, Italy; Reginald in Plot I, Row C, Grave 22.