A collection of letters and documents relating to the Brown family of Tiverton, Devon. Most of the letters are from the six children to their father’s second wife (mother to four of them, step-mother to the eldest two). There are a number of letters written from school, but most come from when the children were spread around the British Empire, and regularly wrote home with news and details of their lives. The ‘boys’ also served in the First World War and some had long army careers.

The family comprises: Col. F.D.M. Brown, V.C. (Father), Mrs J. D. (Doris) Brown (mother/step-mother), Claude Russell Brown and Frank Brown (sons by FDMB’s first marriage), Wynyard (Wyn), Vincent (Kit), Llewyn (Llew) and Jessie (children from FDMB’s second marriage).

UK, India general, Australia. 11 boxes, 1874-1939.

Box 1 – Letters home from Claude Brown and Frank Brown written from various boarding schools in the South West of England; letters from Claude and Frank Brown to their father and step-mother, 1896-1922; letters received by Claude Brown, 1898-1923.

Box 2 – Letters home from Jessie Brown to her mother while training and serving as a nurse, mostly in Salop, 1909-1916; from Kathmandu, 1922-1925; letters from Vincent (Kit) Brown written from school and then while serving in the army in India, during World War I and other postings.

Box 3 – Letters home from Eric Brown while at school and from army postings in Aden, Rangoon and Abbotabad.

Box 4 – Letters home from Eric Brown, mostly from Abbotabad during World War I.

Box 5 – Letters home from Wynyard (Wyn) Brown – mostly written to his mother. Written from army training and postings in India and the North West Frontier Province.

Box 6 – Letters home from Wynyard (Wyn) Brown – mostly written to his mother – and from his wife (after Wyn Brown’s death in 1915); letters to Wyn Brown from his mother.

Box 7 – Letters between the Brown family children; documents relating to the schooling of the four younger children, 1898-1909.

Box 8 – Documents kept by Claude Brown from his time serving in the Royal Engineers in Belgium, 1914-1918.

Boxes 9-11 – Household accounts and domestic financial documents, 1874-1939.