Profile

FITZGERALD, John Leo
(Service number 6/1841)

Sacred Heart Basilica memorial plaque, photographed about 2010 — (South Canterbury Museum )

Waimate War Memorial, pictured in 2011 — (South Canterbury Museum 2013/155.33 #01)

Waimate War Memorial (left panel), pictured in 2011 — (South Canterbury Museum 2013/155.33 #04)

Aliases	Tiny
First Rank	Private	Last Rank

Birth

Date	16/03/1893	Place of Birth

Enlistment Information

Date	7 January 1915	Age	21 yrs 9 mths
Address at Enlistment	3 Wellington St, Timaru
Occupation	Painter
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status	Single
Next of Kin	W. FITZGERALD (father), 3 Wellington Street, Timaru
Religion	Roman Catholic
Medical Information	Teeth in fair condition.

Military Service

Served with	NZ Armed Forces	Served in	Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation	4th Reinforcements
Unit, Squadron, or Ship	Canterbury Infantry Battalion
Date	17 April 1915
Transport	Willochra or Knight Templar or Waitomo
Embarked From	Wellington	Destination	Suez, Egypt

Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With

Military Awards

Campaigns
Service Medals	1914-15 Star; British War Medal; Victory Medal
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	5 February 1917	Reason

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

10 Sep 1915 admitted to Cottonera Hospital, Malta (dysentry). 8 Jul 1916 wounded in action at Armentieres & admitted to No. 1 N. Z. Field Ambulance; 10 Jul 1916 admitted to No. 2 London General Hospital, Chelsea; 20 Jul 1916 transferred to No. 2 General Hospital, Walton; 3 Aug 1916 trasferred to N. Z. Hospita; at Hornchurch. 5 Feb 1917 discharged, being no longer physically fit for War Services on account of wounds received in Action.

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date	25 May 1964	Age	70 yrs
Place of Death
Cause	War service with the forces
Notices
Memorial or Cemetery	Timaru Cemetery
Memorial Reference	General Section, Row 60, Plot 1658
New Zealand Memorials	On Memorial wall, Timaru; Basilica of the Sacred Heart; Waimate First World War Memorial

Biographical Notes

Son of William (Bill) & Mary Ann (nee MADDEN). FITZGERALD, Timaru; Baptized Catholic on 28 June 1893 at Timaru. Married Grace Evelyn; family - Anne, Marie, Jeanette, Gregory & Colleen. Brother Patrick Gregory FITZGERALD killed in action; brothers Thomas Aloysius & William also served WWI.John returned to timaru by the express on 11 January 1917 to a very hearty welcome by the Mayor and locals, having been invalided home. John possibly played in the Celtic A Juniors football team in the Seven-a-Side Tournament on 24 May 1907.

Sources

Cenotaph Database [26 Apr 2013]; NZ Defence Force Personnel Records (Archives NZ Ref. AABK 18805 W5537 0040351) [28 July 2013]; TDC Headstone image Timaru Cemetery [5 August 2013]; Catholic Diocese of Christchurch - Baptism index V.1.2 (South Canterbury Branch NZSG Computer Resources) [27 April 2014]; Timaru Herald, 24 May 1907 (Papers Past) [06 May 2014]

External Links

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