1st Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment.

Awarded the Military Medal in the London Gazette of 11 November 1916.

Brown was a native of Burnley, Lancashire.

From the Burnley News of 30 September 1916: - Burnley Soldier Missing. An extract from this report on 5480 L/Cpl Francis Thomas Nightingale who had been missing since 1 July 1916, states, that he was in receipt of a gallantry card for 6 July 1915 that stated, "18173 Private J. Brown (sic), and 5480 Private Nightingale, These two men on the 6 July 1915, at -- --, carried messages from the firing line to battalion headquarters and back throughout the action. The communication trenches were badly knocked about, and consequently their task was a very perilous one, but they continued to do their duty, and were directly responsible for the excellence of the communications throughout the day." Nightingale, who was a Burnley man was later listed as killed in action on the 1 July 1916.