 He attended Geelong Grammar School from 1908 to 1911 and then Christ College at Cambridge University in England where he graduated with a degree in Natural Sciences.He served in the British Expeditionary Force for five years from 1914–19, being severely wounded and appointed M.B.E and was then with the British Colonial Service for four years in England and Nigeria.G.W.Brown is believed to have served with the Royal West Kent Regiment in France and Belgium, being wounded at the Battle of Loos

Appointed MBE on 7 June 1918, he was then posted as a Lieutenant in the role of Administrative Officer and Assistant Adjutant at a School of Instruction.