FLIEGNER, Henry Augustus
| Service Numbers: | 2801A, 2801 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 22 November 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 38th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Fitzroy South, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1896 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | State School Teacher |
| Died: | Ringwood, Victoria, Australia, 17 August 1986, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 22 Nov 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, 2801A | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Dec 1916: | Embarked Private, 2801, 38th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Medic, Melbourne | |
| 16 Dec 1916: | Involvement Private, 2801, 38th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Medic embarkation_ship_number: A7 public_note: '' | |
| 16 Dec 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2801A, Sent to England on the "Medic". disembarked at Weymouth | |
| 1 Jun 1917: | Promoted Lance Corporal, Promoted from Private to Lance Corporal | |
| 25 Aug 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 38th Infantry Battalion, Transferred to France as reinforcement for 38th Battalion | |
| 18 Nov 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Susan Weisser
Known as “Henry”, Heinrich Augustus Fliegner was the eldest child of Mathilde and Ernst Fliegner and was a State School Teacher prior to his enlistment in the Australian Imperial Forces on 22 November 1916. He was assigned the Service Number 2801 but later it was discovered that this was a duplicate number with another soldier and so “A” was added to his number (2801A)
Henry was sent to England only a month after enlisting leaving Melbourne on 16 December 1916 on board the Medic. He disembarked at Weymouth in England in February 1917 and underwent training in England before being sent to France to “reinforce 38th Batallion” on 25 August 1917. By that time he had been promoted from Private to Lance Corporal (1 June 1917).
He was twice wounded in action – the first time on 12 October 1917 with a Gun Shot Wound to the Arm. He was hospitalised for 2 months but recovered and sent back to his unit on 18 December 1917. He was wounded in action a second time on 11 August 1918 with a Gun Shot Wound to the face. He recovered and was sent back to his unit on 4 September 1918.
On 5 October 1918 he was returned to England on leave but quickly came down with the “Spanish Flu” and was admitted to the 1st Auxillary Hospital on 20 October where he spent 10 days. Discharged on the 30 October he was sent back to France for the rest of the war. He was not returned to England until June 1919 and returned to Australia on board the Main on 23 July 1919. The ship docked on 11 October 1919 and Henry was discharged from service on 18 November 1919.
He quickly resumed his teaching career and by the start of 1920 was appointed as Head Teacher at Goorambit which is about 12 kilometres north of Benalla. It was whilst here that he married Doris Ethel Lightbody whose family came from the Portland area.
How long he stayed at Goorambit is unknown but at some stage he was made Head Teacher at the Central School in Echuca. He was here for a number of years up until 1944 when he was transferred to Eaglehawk (near Bendigo). On his departure from Echuca it was reported that he was “a man of high academic qualifications, an efficient teacher and a returned soldier” who always reportedly put the interests of the children first. The departure of his wife was also noted with sadness as she was also a teacher and had resumed teaching at the school after a period away (presumably in raising children). His time at Eaglehawk must have been only brief as it appears he was made a District Schools Inspector for the Benalla area in about 1945. After 6 years as a District Inspector he was transferred in 1951 to Melbourne as Inspector of Metropolitan District No 8 of the Education Department.
Henry died in 1986 at age 90 at Ringwood.
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