FISCHER, Alfred Frederick
(Service number )
| First Rank | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 12 October 1888 | Place of Birth | Timaru, New Zealand |
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Enlistment Information
| Date | 8 June 1918 | Age | 29 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Nome, Alaska | ||
| Occupation | Ship's carpenter | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | |||
Military Service
| Served with | United States Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
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| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | |||
| Date | |||
| Transport | |||
| Embarked From | Destination | ||
| Other Units Served With | |||
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| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
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| Service Medals | |||
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 |
Death
| Date | 1 November 1978 | Age | 90 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Greymouth, New Zealand | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | |||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Alfred Friedrich Fischer, known as Fred, was born on 12 October 1888 at Timaru, the second son of well-known photographer Adolf Gottlieb Fischer, from Switzerland, and his Bavarian-born wife, Katherina née Blab, who had come to New Zealand in 1879-80. He was baptised on 12 February 1889 at St Mary’s Anglican Church, Timaru. Alfred, who may have been known as Frederick, was educated at Timaru and at Sydenham School in Christchurch.
Alfred Fischer, a jioiner, was called up in Christchurch in 1916, but . . . As a young man Alfred went to Alaska, and while there he registered with the United States Forces for World War I, on 8 June 1918. He was single and noted that his mother, Catherine Fischer, Christchurch, NZ, was solely dependent on him. It was while living at Nome, Alaska, that he was naturalized on 19 July 1918. On 10 November 1922, George Fredrick Fischer applied for a United States passport. He intended to leave the United States from the port of Vancouver, sailing on board the “Niagra” on 24 November 1922. He was then a miner residing at Nome, Alaska, and wanted to visit relatives in New Zealand and Australia. He had been residing in Alaska for ten years unterruped, from 1912 to 1922, having emigrated from Glasgow, Scotland to the United States about Spring 1912. He stated, moreover, that his father was by then (1922) deceased. He probably returned to Nome in May 1923, and again in May 1926 after a visit home.
Back in New Zealand he married Glaswegian Mary Coulter Toal in 1932. Alfred Frederich Fischer died on 1 November 1978 at Greymouth, predeceased by his wife in 1974. Two brothers served in World War I – Emil Gottlieb Henry Fischer (Harry) with the Australian Forces and Albert George Fischer with the New Zealand Forces.
Sources
NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [13 April 2020]; School Admission record [13 April 2020]; US Passport application (ancestry.com.au) [25 April 2020]; US WWI Draft Registration Card (ancestry.com.au) [25 April 2020]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [25 April 2020]; canterburyphotography.blogspot.comm
External Links
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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