George Trevor Brown

Lieutenant George Trevor Brown – Royal Flying Corps (attached to the Welsh Regiment)

The second Royal Flying Corps burial at Oystermouth Cemetery took place in February 1917. It was that of Lieutenant George Trevor Brown, a Swansea-born officer who lost his life in a flying accident over Salisbury Plain during the early years of British military aviation.

Early Life and Family Background

John Samuel Brown and Elizabeth Jones
marriage certificate
St. Paul's Church, Newport

George Trevor Brown was born in 1892 in Swansea, the son of John Samuel Brown and Elizabeth Jones, who were married in April 1889 at St. Paul’s Church, Newport.

John Samuel Brown was a well-known ironmonger and motor engineer, whose business premises were located on Oxford Street, Swansea — one of the town’s main commercial thoroughfares. His firm, J. S. Brown, Ironmongers and Motor Engineers, operated at 20–21 Oxford Street, with an additional workshop listed at 237 Oxford Street. The company sold tools, hardware, and engineering supplies and was among the first in Swansea to adapt to the growing motor trade.

The Brown family was active in local civic life. In 1918, the South Wales Daily Post recorded Mr. John S. Brown of Oxford Street among the city’s contributors to a war relief fund, donating £10 10 s., reflecting both the family’s prosperity and their public spirit during wartime.

1901 Census

According to the 1901 Census, George’s mother, recorded as Elizabeth Brown, was visiting the home of Frederick King at 24 West Park Road, Newport. Frederick, aged 25, was a Stockbroker’s Clerk, and his wife Leah, aged 29, had a young daughter named Phyllis. Also in the household were Elizabeth’s children: Arthur (10), George T. (9), and Averil E. N. (4), along with a servant, Sarah D. Driscoll (29).

1901 Census

Meanwhile, George’s father, John Samuel Brown, then aged 43, was residing at Oakleigh, Sketty, where he was recorded as an Ironmonger and Shopkeeper. He employed two domestic servants, Mary Lewis (35) and Martha J. Phillips (21).

George’s mother, often referred to as “Bessie”, died in 1909 and was buried at Oystermouth Cemetery.

In 1910, John Samuel Brown remarried Emily Elizabeth Murch Scott, the ceremony taking place at Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire.

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, the family was still living at Oakleigh, Sketty. John, aged 53, was recorded as an Ironmonger and Engineer, and Emily, aged 46, managed the home. Their children included Arthur P. (21), a clerk in his father’s office; G. Trevor (19), an apprentice in his father’s business on Oxford Street; and Averil (14), who was still at school. Two servants, Minnie Lake (24) and Florence Wilkinson (26), also lived with the family.

Military Service – Royal Flying Corps

George Trevor Brown followed in the family’s tradition of technical and mechanical skill, which likely influenced his path into military aviation. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps, attached to the Welsh Regiment.

The Royal Flying Corps (RFC), founded in 1912, was the air arm of the British Army during the early years of the First World War. By 1917, it had expanded dramatically to meet the growing demand for reconnaissance, artillery spotting, and air combat. However, training conditions were often perilous. New pilots learned to fly in fragile wooden aircraft, such as the B.E.2c and Avro 504, without parachutes or reliable instruments. Fatal accidents were common, and in some months, more airmen were killed in Britain during training than were lost in combat over France.

Salisbury Plain and the Royal Flying Corps, 1917

Salisbury Plain, in Wiltshire, was one of Britain’s key military aviation training areas during the First World War. Its wide-open spaces, already used by the Army since the 1890s, were ideal for establishing RFC airfields, gunnery schools, and flight training centres.

By early 1917, the Plain was dotted with aerodromes and camps at Netheravon, Upavon, Larkhill, and Stonehenge, where squadrons trained for reconnaissance, bombing, and artillery cooperation. The weather, however, was often treacherous — strong winds, fog, and uneven terrain posed constant danger. Engine failures, structural faults, and pilot inexperience frequently led to fatal crashes. Many of these accidents were described simply as “loss of control,” reflecting the experimental nature of early flight.

It was while flying over Salisbury Plain on 12^th February 1917 that Lieutenant George Trevor Brown was killed in such an accident. His aircraft went down during a routine flight — another of the countless young pilots lost during the hazardous training phase of the Royal Flying Corps’ rapid wartime expansion.

Death and Burial

Brown Family grave
Oystermouth Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Lieutenant George Trevor Brown’s body was brought home to Swansea and interred at Oystermouth Cemetery, where he was laid to rest near his mother, Elizabeth. His death was deeply felt in Swansea’s professional and civic circles, as the Brown family were well known for their long-established Oxford Street business and their contribution to the city’s commercial and charitable life.

Legacy

Lieutenant George Trevor Brown stands among the early generation of British military aviators whose courage and innovation helped shape the Royal Flying Corps — and ultimately, the Royal Air Force. His story, like that of Lieutenant Cyril Donald Thomas Jenkins, reflects the transition from ground warfare to air power and the heavy price paid by those who trained to master the skies.

His resting place at Oystermouth Cemetery marks not only a personal loss but also a chapter in the history of flight itself — the era when aviation was still new, dangerous, and full of promise.