FOGARTY, Michael
| Service Number: | 97 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 August 1914, at Morphettville |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Carrick-on-Suir, Tipperary, Ireland, 1887 |
| Home Town: | Adelaide, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 97, 10th Infantry Battalion, at Morphettville | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement Lance Corporal, 97, 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 Lance Corporal, 97, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ascanius, Adelaide |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by St Ignatius' College
- Before the War
Michael Fogarty was born in Tipperary in Ireland in 1887 but by 1914 was living as a labourer in Adelaide. He was married although he listed his father in Ireland, Peter Mahoney Fogarty, as his next of kin. Fogarty had grey eyes, fair skin and dark brown hair, and he was 5 ft 9.5 tall, which was the average height for a soldier. Fogarty was a member of the Roman Catholic Church.
- During the War
Michael Fogarty enlisted on the 19th of August 1914 and was a part of the 10th Battalion which was mainly men from South Australia. His first regimental number was 97. He was initially Lance Corporal but in November 1914 reverted to Private for unknown reasons. He sailed for Egypt on the Ascanius in October 1914 and trained there. However, in April 1915 he fell ill with influenza and, soon after, was sent home to Australia with rheumatism, meaning he never went to Gallipoli.
He appears to have recovered in Australia because, in March 1916, he sailed again for the war. This time he had officially transferred to the 27th Battalion. Since moving Battalions, his regimental number changed from 97 to 4426. On the 29th of May 1916, he embarked from Alexandria in Egypt, heading for France. On the 11th of August 1916, he joined the 27th Battalion in the field on the Somme. After long months of fighting and participating in warfare, on the 4th of October 1916, he unfortunately, was admitted into a field hospital in France. After two days of resting, he was transferred into a Hospital in Camiers. Camiers is a western coastline in France, with beautiful beaches and countrysides. The reason he was admitted into the hospital was because he had fallen with a case of Haemorrhoids, also known as Piles. This may have been caused due to the food soldiers had to eat which consisted of canned corned, beef, bread and biscuits.
As the war continued, more soldiers were injured and needed treatment. Fogarty was now required to change location with a 30-minute drive from Camiers to Boulogne-Sur-Mer. Boulogne-Sur-Mer is a minor city placed on the outer coast of France. After two days, Michael Fogarty was admitted into a field hospital as that was all that was available. He stayed there until the 11th of October 1916, until Fogarty was able to transfer to the 25th Boulogne-Sur-Mer hospital, where he was able to obtain the required treatment. Unfortunately, Michael Fogarty was unable to quickly recover from Haemorrhoids. We can assume that he had gained a reaction to the medicine as he fell sick or obtained other medical conditions.
After falling sick in Boulogne-Sur-Mer, on the 14th of October he was transferred to England for more treatment. Fogarty arrived at Peckham, London on the 31st of October 1916. With his health being low he was granted leave. It wasn’t until the 23rd of March 1917 that he was in a healthy condition to leave Peckham and transferred to the 40th Battalion. From there he was driven for three days where he arrived in Perhams Downs. Perhams Downs was one of four Australian Command Depots in the UK. It dealt with soldiers who had been discharged from hospitals and needed training before being sent back to France to fight. Command Depot No.1 could accommodate for 4000 men and was where, after six days of waiting Michael was assigned to.
Just under two months of training vigorously, Fogarty was relocated to Command Depot No.2 which was located in Westham, England on the 10th of August 1917. After exactly a month of training, he failed the medical test as he had developed flat feet and extensive corns on both feet. He was sent from Westham back to Australia where he settled down in Canberra.
- After the War
After the war, Michael Fogarty was awarded multiple medals for his service in WWI. He was the recipient of the 1914/15 Star Medal for early enlistment and the Victory Medal, given to many ANZACS who fought for Australia/New Zealand and the Allies.
His later life is unknown in detail, although in 1934 he was living in Ceduna in South Australia.