William Fraser "Horsey" Browne

Rank:	Lieutenant
Street:
Townland:
Town/Village:	Newtownforbes
Civil Parish:	Clonguish
Catholic Parish:	Clonguish
Country:
Alternative Address:	Cashel Rectory, Glebe, Newtowncashel; Campbell College, Belfast
Census 1901:	N/A
Census 1911:	Resident with family at St. Anne's Rectory, Newtownforbes https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-census/view-pdf/?doc=nai002900312
Regiment/Unit:	Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding)
Regiment Number:	N/A
Date of Death:	23-05-1931
Cause:	Natural Causes
Memorial:	Aldershot Military Cemetery, Aldershot, Hampshire, U.K.
Information:	William Fraser Browne was born on or around the 28 Jan 1903, in the Church of Ireland glebe to the Cashel parish. His father was Rev. John Browne, and his mother Annie (née Fraser). by 1911 the family was living in St. Anne's Rectory, Newtownforbes. During WW1 his mother Annie was a member of the Newtownforbes Work Party of the JWVAD. Fraser attended Campbell's College, Belfast and later Sandhurst for officer training. He was commissioned to the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) (website with photo) in Jan 1926 Fraser was a well-known Rugby Union player in the 1920s, playing for the Services and Harlequins. He was capped 12 times for Ireland by 1928. He was affectionately nicknamed 'Horsey' Brown. As his health began to decline he stopped playing rugby, but retained his interest in it and other sports. Fraser died of long-term illness**, seemingly at the home of his friend, Adrian Stoop, and is buried at Aldershot Military Cemetery. His friends in Belfast collected a fund in his honour, and established the W.F. Browne Memorial Pavilion at Campbell College in 1932.
Parents Names:	Son of Rev John Browne and Annie (née Fraser), of Newtownforbes
Notes:	The image of the Pavilion is from The Belfast Newsletter of the 23 Sept 1932. **Browne's cause of death is given as pernicious anaemia (Vit B12 deficiency) in some sources and Leukaemia in others.
Links:	Link to FindAGrave entry; Wikipedia entry; archived IrishRugby.ie entry; Belfast Newsletter, 25 May 1931; Longford Historical Society; Longford Leader obituary; obitu