William Braine

William Braine
Biographical information
Marital status	Married
Date of birth	1814
Place of birth	Oakhill, Somerset
Date of death	April 3rd, 1846
Place of death	Beechey Island
Physical description
Gender	Male
Height	6'
Eye color	Grey

William Braine was a Royal Marine private aboard HMS Erebus during the Franklin Expedition.

Early Life

William Braine was born in March 1814 in Oakhill, Somerset to Shadrach Braine, a quarry worker, and his wife Honor (née King). He was baptized in the parish of Ashwick on May 28^th, 1815. His mother died in August of 1823, when William was nine years old. Two years later, his father married a spinster named Elizabeth Bun. William was one of seven children, including six brothers and one sister, being the third eldest. His eldest brother Thomas, died 2 months after birth.

Later Life

At the age of 19, Braine joined the Royal Marines in December of 1833, signing on as a private in Yeovil (Lloyd-Jones, 2004). In the recruiting book, he was described as being 5'10" with a "slim" stature and grey eyes, he was either mistaken or he lied that he gave his age as 20 (Lloyd-Jones, 2004). Rather than signing his name, Braine signed with an 'X', suggesting he may have been illiterate (The Life of William Braine, n.d.). He was then relocated to the Stonehouse Barracks in Plymouth (Lloyd-Jones, 2004).

He finished his infantry training in July of 1834 and joined the 8th Company of the Woolwich Division, housed at the Woolwich Arsenal. He married Eliza Wood on October 31^st, 1841, in Woolwich. There were no records of children from their marriage.

Franklin Expedition

In the spring of 1845, Braine signed up for the Franklin expedition in the HMS Erebus's Royal Marine detachment, serving under Sgt. David Bryant.

On April 3^rd, 1846; Private William Braine died on Beechey Island and is buried with John Torrington and John Hartnell. Investigation of Braine's remains in 1986 revealed that Braine was severely emaciated at his time of death, with an advanced case of tuberculosis which had resulted in angular kyphosis, or a sharp twisting of his spine. He was buried in three shirts, as well as a shroud and a red patterned handkerchief that was placed over his face with no pants.

References

Lloyd-Jones, R. (2004). William Braine. The royal marines on Franklin's last expedition. p. 324. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UzYnbjkpc1JYur2h7RZyQQeF5vI6fVPi/view

The Life Story of William Braine (n.d.) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tXTobQB8c2gEncioFLVRZnBcjuzad-0d/edit