Town square named in honour of teenage WW2 war hero

The name of North Shields’ new Town Square was revealed at an unveiling ceremony

A town square has been named after a World War Two hero who helped retrieve the Enigma codes at sea.

North Shields town square was named in honour of Thomas Brown at a ceremony on Friday which was attended by four generations of his family.

When he was 16 years old, Mr Brown took part in a daring mission to capture vital Enigma code books from a German submarine, actions which were believed to have shortened the war.

A 6ft 6in (2m) tall stone memorial to Mr Brown, commissioned by his family, has also been installed in the square.

Mr Brown left his hometown in North Tyneside looking for adventure, his niece Lynn Melville said.

He had only just turned 15 when he joined the Navy, Army, and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) and got a job working as a civilian on HMS Petard, after lying about his age.

Mr Brown then took part in a mission to capture Enigma code books from a sinking German U-boat.

Thomas Brown's niece Lynn Melville said it was a fitting tribute

Ms Melville said: "He was just a one-off, a go-getter, he wanted to go out and do something.

"He didn't ask permission, he jumped in the water and he did this very brave, foolish act."

Speaking after the ceremony, Ms Melville said: "I'm absolutely blown away by it, it's wonderful.

"And to be here in the middle of where I still live, most of my family still live, and where Thomas grew up, it's just fantastic."

Mr Brown was awarded the George Medal for bravery but died in a fire, aged 19, before he could receive it

In 2023, North Tyneside Council invited people to vote for a new name for the square from a shortlist of four significant local figures.

They were: Thomas Brown; Ellen Lee, the heroic ARP warden who saved more than 30 lives during a wartime raid on George Street; Charles Minto, the champion boxer and civil rights activist; and Mary Ann Macham, the abolitionist who settled in North Shields.

Thomas Brown took more than half the votes: 2,149 out of 4,247.

Mr Brown's nephew Andrew Miller said: "It's on record that Winston Churchill himself said that his actions shortened the war by several months, or even a year.

"There must have been countless lives saved because of that.

"It makes me feel very, very proud."