APITZ, Anders Nielson
| Service Numbers: | 1982, N237075 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 December 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | Camel Corps |
| Born: | Balmain, New South Wales, Australia, 10 November 1900 |
| Home Town: | Kogarah, Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Sydney Technical High School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Insurance Inspector |
| Died: | Mount Hutton, New South Wales, Australia, 8 January 1985, aged 84 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Sydney Technical High School WW1 Roll Of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Dec 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1982, 3 Battalion Imperial Camel Corps | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Feb 1917: | Involvement Private, 1982, Camel Corps, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: RMS Karmala embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 3 Feb 1917: | Embarked Private, 1982, Camel Corps, RMS Karmala, Sydney |
World War 2 Service
| 19 Mar 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, N237075 | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Sep 1943: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, N237075 |
Help us honour Anders Nielson Apitz's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Sydney Technical High School
Anders Nielson Apitz, born on the 10th of November 1900, grew up in Kogarah, a suburban area in Sydney with two sisters, a brother and his father and mother. He attended Technical High School (1) growing up and was a dedicated student, doing very well in Industrial arts. When he was just 16, his father unfortunately passed away due to illness after battling it for 8 weeks (2). Later in the year, he enlisted on 19th December 1916, even though he was under the enlistment age requirement, being only 16 at the time.
On the 3rd of February 1917 Anders Apitz embarked on RMS Karmala to Egypt for his basic military training (3). During that time he served in the 3rd Imperial Camel Corps in the Middle East(4).
It is assumed that he started service after a few weeks in basic training and served long patrols around Egypt fighting the revolt of pro-turkish senussi tribesmen in the Western Desert of Egypt. The 3rd Imperial Camel Corps were not part of any major battles, mostly brief skirmishes with these Senussi tribesmen (5). During one of these skirmishes he was hit with a bullet in his left knee and was transported to No.14 General Hospital A.I.F(6).
On the original casualty form, it was listed that he had been hit with a gunshot wound on the neck. This caused a large panic in his family as Apitz’ family had been sent home a letter reporting that he had potentially fatal neck injuries. This mistake was resolved shortly after with a follow up letter explaining the situation to his family(7).
Due to the area where he had been shot, it meant he could no longer serve in the military and embarked on his return to Australia on the 15th of February 1918. He was discharged 28th June 1918. Upon Anders Apitz’ return from the war, he returned to work as a clerk. His brother, Frederick Apitz also returned to Australia the following year on the 16th January 1919(9).
A few years after the war, Nielson married Thelma Mary Potts in 1921(10). In 1924 after his marriage, the couple had their first child, Kenneth John Nielson Apitz on the 14th of March at Waverly. Unfortunately on the 8th of June 1932, Nielson’s wife passed away due to an undisclosed reason(11). After the death of his first wife, Nielson remarried to Evelyn Ruth Wilson(12). It was reported in the papers that he received a traffic offence for exceeding the speed limit on Pitt and Bridge Street in Sydney and received a fine of 2 pounds(13).
After the tragedy of losing his wife it would be hard to assume that he would have to undergo anymore losses but unfortunately his son at the age of 20 died on the 19th of July 1944, 12 years after the death of his first wife, in Tamlat Monaghan, Ireland. 7 years after his son’s death, his mother died on the 7th of July 1951 at Kogarah where he grew up.
The next 20 years of his life were spent with his second wife until the death of multiple of his family members in the years following 1971 in which his brother passed away on the 19th of September of that year. . Then in 1978, one of his sisters, Pauline Rebecca Apitz passed away on the 14th of May 1978 (who was the secretary of the United Australia Party which was a political party founded in 1931 and dissolved in 194)5. Then, on the 8th of July 1985, Apitz Anders Nielson passed away at the age of 85 followed by the passing of his second sister, Britta Ann Apitz, on the 15th of July 1945.
References
Docs provided https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Lqdn6W49l5b6j7lP3jWuhpn0FpyLCzCE/edit
Google Drive :https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Q8QVGmV7w9kDTqLXfNediliB9Oz5Yazm
Google Drive
AIF Project for Apitz Anders Nielson: https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=6502
Australian war memorial: https://www.awm.gov.au/learn/schools/resources/1916/imperial-camel-corps
Google Drive
Letter in Google Drive (apitz 09.jpg)
Casualty form in Google Drive (apitz 14.jpg)
AIF Project for Frederick Apitz Nielson(https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=6503)
Timeline in Google Doc
Google Doc (Sydney Morning Herald article)
Timeline in Google Doc
Newcastle Morning Herald & Miners Association(in Google Doc)
AIF Project for Frederick Apitz Nielson
Bibliography
Ken Stevenson, Research on Google Drive
Australian War Memorial(Imperial Camel Corps)-https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51065
Virtual War Memorial(Anders Nielson Apitz)-https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/119784
National Archives of Australia(Anders Nielson Apitz) - https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=3034379&isAv=N
National Army Museum(Sunussi Revolt)-https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/senussi-revolt
AIF project (Frederick Apitz)-https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=6503