FITZSIMMONS, Leslie George
| Service Number: | 5685 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 January 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Mudgee, New South Wales, Australia, 16 December 1897 |
| Home Town: | Mudgee, Mid-Western Regional, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in action, France, 25 December 1916, aged 19 years |
| Cemetery: |
Bancourt British Cemetery Plot VII, Row D, Grave No. 5. |
| Memorials: | Gulgong and Mudgee District Roll of Honor, Mudgee District Fallen Soldiers Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 25 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5685, 2nd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 5685, 2nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Kyarra embarkation_ship_number: A55 public_note: '' | |
| 3 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, 5685, 2nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Kyarra, Sydney |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Leslie George Fitzsimmons was the son of Isaac and Lucy Olivia Fitzsimmons of Mudgee, New South Wales. He enlisted at Lithgow, New South Wales on the same day as his older brother, Isaac James Fitzsimmons, on 25 January 1916. They joined the 2nd Battalion AIF and were given consecutive regimental numbers of 5685 and 5686.
Both brothers died in France during the war. The Commonwealth War Graves and the Australian War Memorial have their names recorded as Fitzsimons but both seemed to sign their name as Fitzsimmons. In fact, it was pointed out to the Imperial War Graves Commission in 1930 that their surname should read ‘Fitzsimmons’. Leslie George was also known as ‘George’ to his family and friends, and his brother, Isaac James, was known as ‘James’ to his family and friends.
Leslie George was very young, being just over 18 years of age when he enlisted. He joined the 2nd Battalion at the front during September 1916. He was killed in action on Christmas Day 1916, one week after turning 19 years of age.
Unfortunately, it was reported to his parents that his brother had been killed in action. This information was officially corrected some months later.
Leslie George was originally reported buried about a half mile east of Goudecourt, and after the war he was interred in the Bancourt British Cemetery during 1919.
His older brother, 5686 Pte. Isaac James Fitzsimmons 2nd Battalion AIF, died of wounds in France on 9 August 1918, aged 28.
The Mudgee Guardian reported on 22 March 1917, “Some little time since Mr. and Mrs. I. Fitzsimmons, of Queen's Pinch, Mudgee, received the intimation that their son, Private L. G. Fitzsimmons, had been killed in action in France. Previously Mr. and Mrs. Fitzsimmons had been informed that their son, Private I. J. Fitzsimmons, had fallen. It finally transpired that the victim was Private L. G. Fitzsimmons. Mrs. Fitzsimmons this week received a letter from Private I. J. Fitzsimmons giving a few particulars (but very scant) of his brother's heroic death. Private I. J. Fitzsimmons, who wrote from France, under date January 9, says: — "I am still in rest camp. Had been working here, where it is wet and muddy, and very cold. I have some rather rotten news to tell you about dear brother George. He was killed on Christmas Eve. He had only come out of the trench the day before. A shell burst about six yards from him and killed him. I never saw him, but a friend of mine did, and he told me that he had carried another chap alongside of him." Private Fitzsimmons adds that he had not known of his brother's death until a day or so before he wrote. He himself (who was greatly unnerved by his brother's death) was driving an engine, and found it fairly good work.”
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