FISHER, Edmund Nathaniel
| Service Number: | 552 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 August 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 14th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Dunkeld, Victoria, Australia, May 1889 |
| Home Town: | Dimboola, Hindmarsh, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Barman |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 552, 8th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 552, 8th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Benalla embarkation_ship_number: A24 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 552, 8th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Benalla, Melbourne | |
| 18 Mar 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, Camel Corps | |
| 19 Oct 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 1st Battalion Imperial Camel Corps | |
| 9 Nov 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 1st Battalion Imperial Camel Corps | |
| 7 Aug 1918: | Transferred AIF WW1, Corporal, 14th Light Horse Regiment, TSgt 10/11/1918 | |
| 22 Feb 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Corporal, 552, 14th Light Horse Regiment, TSgt, 3rd MD |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Gallipoli, 1915
Writing to his sister on 13th August 1915, Pte. Edmund Nathaniel Fisher 552, 8th Battalion Australian Infantry, spoke of his tiredness and recalled the death of a friend, Eddy D'Alton. [1]
“Dear Mame — I received your letters up till June 23, and was pleased to hear you are all keeping well. I am quite well: still have luck enough to dodge all Turkish and German bullets. We take no notice of them; but high explosive shells — they are terrible in their work. It was one of them which killed Eddie D'Alton. They are very demoralising, and we get plenty of them trench-fighting, and of course give more back. It is wonderful to see the navy at work here; it gives one an idea of what the Germans are afraid to come out and face in the North Sea. You need not send me any more papers, as there is only a limited number sent on to us, and I get one occasionally from some of the other lads. By the time you get this it will be Show-time in Horsham. We have had our 6th Reinforcement here. It speaks for itself. Our company has been fairly lucky up to date. I hope it continues so; but one never knows.
“Well, Mame, we notice some very inaccurate letters in the papers from the wounded — about being used to shell-fire. But they are from men who have not seen any of its effects, nor been under the same; and, what is more, the Turks are playing the game fair and square. The terrible things they have been reported to have committed have never happened. I have not seen any of it, nor do I know of anyone who has done so; and we have seen as much as anyone here; not like some of the Light Horse men, describing what they did at the landing, when they did not arrive for about three weeks after. In the meantime we had been to Cape Hellas [sic] and made our charge there, and at Achi Baba on May 8. We will never forget it.
“We heard that Arthur Anderson died from his wounds. Is it true or not? A spell from here would not do us any harm, as most of us are now about worn out, for we have been in the trenches practically ever since we came here. The men who are the best off are those who have been slightly wounded; they get away for a spell, and that seems the only chance of getting one. It is now beginning to tell on our nerves. The food is only what you can expect. I have been wearing the one shirt for three months without too many washes in between; likewise the rest of our clothes. I have had one wash in five weeks, so you can guess we would appreciate a swim. We have not had our clothes off a dozen times since we landed. Writing material is very short. I love to get a letter from home, so write soon.” [2]
[1] Pte. Charles Edward D'Alton, 8th Battalion Australian Infantry, was killed in action on 6th August 1915. Buried in Shrapnel Valley Cemetery, he was the 24 year-old son of St. Eloy D'Alton and Ann J. E. D'Alton, of “Anchorage,” Corner of Mrama and Warley Roads, Malvern, Victoria, Australia.
[2] 'Dimboola Banner and Wimmera and Mallee Advertiser' (Victoria), 15th October 1915.