FITZPATRICK, Walter Vincent
| Service Number: | 2861 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 July 1915, Blackboy Hill |
| Last Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
| Born: | Hunters Hill, New South Wales, Australia, 9 March 1887 |
| Home Town: | Victoria Park, Victoria Park, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed In Action, France, 5 April 1918, aged 31 years |
| Cemetery: |
Dernancourt Communal Cemetery Extension VI. H. 29. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, East Victoria Park Memorial Wall, Nungarin War Memorial, Victoria Park St Joachim's Catholic Church Honour Board, Victoria Park War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2861, 28th Infantry Battalion, Blackboy Hill | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 2861, 28th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Ulysses embarkation_ship_number: A38 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 2861, 28th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ulysses, Fremantle | |
| 3 Mar 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1) | |
| 4 Oct 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1) | |
| 7 Apr 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 2861, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1), The Outpost Villages - German Withdrawal to Hindenburg Line, GSW right buttock | |
| 9 Apr 1917: | Honoured Mention in Dispatches | |
| 3 Nov 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1) | |
| 5 Apr 1918: | Involvement Second Lieutenant, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1), --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 51 Battalion awm_rank: Second Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1918-04-05 |
Summary
Walter Vincent Fitzpatrick was born in Hunters Hill, New South Wales. He was the son of Walter and Sara Fitzpatrick with eight siblings, one brother and seven sisters.
Attending Hunters Hill school, he was known to be a keen sportsman. It is unknown when Walter and his family moved to Western Australia. In 1914 Walter and his brother Raymond purchased land at Nungarin, east of Perth to develop it into a farming property. His parents lived in Shepperton Road Victoria Park.
Walter had already been serving in WA Infantry Militia for five years when he enlisted into the AIF in July 1915, conducting his training at Blackboy Hill. He embarked overseas originally attached to 28th Battalion in November 1915 arriving in Egypt in March 1916. He was transferred to the 51st Battalion on his arrival in Egypt.
Arriving in France in June 1916, Walters service records state he was attached to the Royal Flying Corp and in October 1916 he was appointed a Lance Corporal.
By early April 1917 Walter was in action with 51st Battalion at Noreuil as a signaller. On one occasion Walter was following the attacking companies who were under heavy machine gunfire when he ran out a telephone line to establish a signal station in the trenches which allowed direct communication with 51st Battalion HQ. Artillery fire continued to cut the telephone line with Walter continually venturing out from the trenches to repair the lines. For his action at that time he was recommended for a military medal which he did not receive, instead he was Mention in Dispatches (MID) for this action.
It was during the battle of Noreuil in April 1917, Walter received a gun shot wound to his buttocks, receiving treatment for his wound at Etaples France. In July 1917 Walter was transferred to England to conduct officer training. By November 1917 he was appointed a Second Lieutenant re-joining 51st Battalion in the same month.
On the 5th April 1918, 51st Battalion was involved in actions around Dernancourt against the continuous German assaults. It was at about 6pm that 51st Battalion had moved in support of 52nd Battalion along the railway embankment which lead into Dernancourt. It was at this location that Second Lieutenant Walter Vincent Fitzpatrick was killed in action, reportedly by sniper fire.
He was buried in the Albert Road British Cemetery. After the war had ended, he was exhumed and reinterned in the Dernancourt Communal Cemetery, France. He was 31 years of age.
Submitted 29 August 2020 by Geoff Tilley
Biography contributed by Geoff Tilley
Walter Vincent Fitzpatrick was born in Hunters Hill, New South Wales. He was the son of Walter and Sara Fitzpatrick with eight siblings, one brother and seven sisters.
Attending Hunters Hill school, he was known to be a keen sportsman. It is unknown when Walter and his family moved to Western Australia. In 1914 Walter and his brother Raymond purchased land at Nungarin, east of Perth to develop it into a farming property. His parents lived in Shepperton Road Victoria Park.
Walter had already been serving in WA Infantry Militia for five years when he enlisted into the AIF in July 1915, conducting his training at Blackboy Hill. He embarked overseas originally attached to 28th Battalion in November 1915 arriving in Egypt in March 1916. He was transferred to the 51st Battalion on his arrival in Egypt.
Arriving in France in June 1916, Walters service records state he was attached to the Royal Flying Corp and in October 1916 he was appointed a Lance Corporal.
By early April 1917 Walter was in action with 51st Battalion at Noreuil as a signaller. On one occasion Walter was following the attacking companies who were under heavy machine gunfire when he ran out a telephone line to establish a signal station in the trenches which allowed direct communication with 51st Battalion HQ. Artillery fire continued to cut the telephone line with Walter continually venturing out from the trenches to repair the lines. For his action at that time he was recommended for a military medal which he did not receive, instead he was Mention in Dispatches (MID) for this action.
It was during the battle of Noreuil in April 1917, Walter received a gun shot wound to his buttocks, receiving treatment for his wound at Etaples France. In July 1917 Walter was transferred to England to conduct officer training. By November 1917 he was appointed a Second Lieutenant re-joining 51st Battalion in the same month.
On the 5th April 1918, 51st Battalion was involved in actions around Dernancourt against the continuous German assaults. It was at about 6pm that 51st Battalion had moved in support of 52nd Battalion along the railway embankment which lead into Dernancourt. It was at this location that Second Lieutenant Walter Vincent Fitzpatrick was killed in action, reportedly by sniper fire.
He was buried in the Albert Road British Cemetery. After the war had ended, he was exhumed and reinterned in the Dernancourt Communal Cemetery, France. He was 31 years of age.
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