Profile

FITZGERALD, James Joseph
(Service number 90069)

Aliases
First Rank		Last Rank	Private

Birth

Date	05/06/1898	Place of Birth

Enlistment Information

Date	26 August 1918	Age	20 yrs
Address at Enlistment	Timaru
Occupation	Clerk (Justice Dept)
Previous Military Experience	2nd South Canterbury Regiment (still serving)
Marital Status	Single
Next of Kin	Mr David FITZGERALD (father), Wakanui, Ashburton
Religion	Roman Catholic
Medical Information	Height 5 ft 9 inches. Weight 126 lbs. Chest measurement 32-35 inches. Hair fair. Eyes blue. Complexion fair. Eyes both 6/6. Hearing and colour vision both normal. Limbs and chest well formed. Full movement of joints. Heart and lungs normal. Free from hernia, varicocele, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, inveterate or contagious skin disease. Good bodily and mental health. Had (?)Tochycardia and rather poor physique, but not sufficient to cause rejection. No fits. No notification of consumption. No treatment in a sanatorium or mental institution. Never discharged from H.M. Service. Never absent from work through ill-health or accident. "Requires graduated training."

Military Service

Served with	NZ Armed Forces	Served in	Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation
Unit, Squadron, or Ship
Date
Transport
Embarked From		Destination

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With	D Company, C/Camp Reinforcements

Military Awards

Campaigns
Service Medals
Military Awards

Award Circumstances and Date

No information

Prisoner of War Information

Date of Capture
Where Captured and by Whom
Actions Prior to Capture
PoW Serial Number
PoW Camps
Days Interned
Liberation Date

Discharge

Date	30 November 1918	Reason

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date		Age
Place of Death
Cause
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery
Memorial Reference
New Zealand Memorials

Biographical Notes

James Joseph FITZGERALD was a son of David and Bridget (nee BUCKLEY) FITZGERALD, of Wakanui, Ashburton, and a brother of John FITZGERALD (52675) who also served in WWI. James enlisted on 26 August 1918 at Timaru, where he was employed as a clerk in the Justice Department. On 29 November 1918 he was granted leave without pay until further orders on Demobilisation, and on 30 November he was issued with a Certificate of Leave in lieu of Discharge, when he was just 20 years 5 months of age and had completed only 7 days of service. He was demobilised on 18 March 1919. On his medical case sheet it was stated that his physique was below par, with a slight degree of (?)tachycardia, and that he would require graduated training. though he was fit and made good progress,he had been acting as clerk for most of his time in camp. It appears that James was prepared to offer himself for service as soon as he was old enough, but that he did not have the physical strength to engage in battle. In the 1919 electoral roll (the first for which he would be entitled to enrol) he is listed as a student at home at Wakanui, Ashburton. Is he the solicitor in Christchurch in 1928? What became of this young man?

Sources

NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Ref. AABK 18805 W5537 0040340) [08 September 2013]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [26 September 2014]; NZ Birth Indexes (DIA) [30 March 2014]

External Links

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