FISHER, Thomas Michael
| Service Number: | 674 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 August 1914, at Morphettville |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Greenwich, England, 6 November 1878 |
| Home Town: | North Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Glen Osmond, South Australia, Australia, 24 April 1949, aged 70 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
West Terrace Cemetery (AIF Section) Kendrew Oval, Row 21, Site Number 29 |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 28 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 674, 10th Infantry Battalion, at Morphettville | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 674, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 674, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ascanius, Adelaide |
Help us honour Thomas Michael Fisher's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by St Ignatius' College
Before the war:
Records state that Thomas Fisher was born in Greenwich, England on 6 November 1878, and before he enlisted in World War I, he was a labourer. He was a widower and had been married but his wife had since died. He was also a Roman Catholic and his next of kin was his friend Miss Kruger who lived in Kapunda, South Australia. When Thomas moved to Australia from England, he lived at 5 North Street, North Adelaide, South Australia.
During the war:
Thomas enlisted in the War on 27 August 1914 when he was 34 years old, which was considered to be quite old. He enlisted as a Private for the 10th battalion. At the time, he was 5 feet 8.5 inches tall, weighed 72kg with a chest size of 40 inches. He had a fresh complexion, with blue eyes and blonde hair. He had four distinctive marks, each being bullet hole scars and had perfect eyesight in both eyes.
The training camp Thomas attended isn’t stated in his records although on 20 October 1914, his unit embarked from Adelaide, South Australia on board the A11 Ascanius, sailing to Egypt. After arriving in Egypt Thomas spent some months training.
In February 1915 Tomas was admitted to hospital with influenza. It appears he did not go to Gallipoli but remained in Egypt. He returned to Australia on the Yarra, leaving Egypt on 17 July 1915. Once home, he was discharged as permanently unfit for service.
Thomas was given his Discharge Medical Board Proceedings, with the reason being that he had become medically unfit, so he was no longer able to fight in the War. The date of discharge is recorded as the 15th of September 1915, although the other discharge document states he was discharged on the 25th of January 1916. The two differently recorded dates could have been due to communication issues between the two documents, which state that he was discharged twice.
After the war:
Nothing further is recorded about Thomas from 1916 until 1940, when he received his Victory Medal, Star Medal and his British War Medal on the 24th of June 1940. Thomas then completed a Statutory Declaration stating that his Discharge Certificate was burnt at a camp with all his other belongings near Waikerie, which means he may have received it, but not known about it. He appears to have beebn living near Waikerie at the time.
Thomas Michael Fisher then passed away on the 24th of April 1949, again reasons for his death are unknown, although it could have been because of old age as he was 71 years old.
Bibliography:
ANZAC spirit: The Spirit of ANZAC 2020, viewed 1 April 2020, <https://anzacday.org.au/spirit-of-anzac>.
Ascanius ship: OCTOBER, 1914, Ascanius 2019, viewed 4 March 2020, http://southaustraliaswar.com.au/monthly-posts/191410-october-1914/.
Australian hospital ship Kyarra: Australian hospital ship Kyarra 2019, viewed 1 March 2020, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C174609.
10th infantry battalion: 10th Infantry Battalion 2020, viewed 6 March 2020, https://vwma.org.au/explore/units/1.
The hospital he was admitted to: No. 2 Australian General Hospital 2020, viewed 5 March 2020, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51699.
Click images to start slideshow.