Community groups and information
The Brush Family
The story of Frederick William Brush u2014 war hero and postman
Frederick William ‘Billy’ Brush (1889-1972) served with the 1st Worcestershire Regiment. He was shot in the chest in June 1915, the bullet lodging close to his heart. He married Margaret Baldwin from Hanley Swan in St Gabriel’s Church – the first military wedding held there.
In the Battle of the Somme he lost his right arm. Discharged as “no longer physically fit for war service” in 1917.
The rent for their cottage was 13s a month, unchanged for 40 years. There was no running water or electricity. The family would pump water from a well, use a toilet at the bottom of the garden, cook on a paraffin stove, and light candles to go to bed.
During the war, Billy became the Hanley Swan postman, cycling his round with fixed pedal and hopping on one good leg. To compensate for no longer being able to play the trombone, he whistled everywhere he went.