S8539
FOX, Edgar George
| Service Number: | 5094 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 January 1916, at Adelaide |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Yongala, South Australia, Australia, April 1888 |
| Home Town: | Clements Gap, Barunga West, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 22 September 1937, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
West Terrace Cemetery (AIF Section) Section: LO, Road: 1AS, Site No: 15 |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 28 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5094, 10th Infantry Battalion, at Adelaide | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Mar 1916: | Involvement Private, 5094, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Shropshire embarkation_ship_number: A9 public_note: '' | |
| 25 Mar 1916: | Embarked Private, 5094, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Shropshire, Adelaide |
Help us honour Edgar George Fox's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by St Ignatius' College
Edgar George Fox was born in Yongala South Australia, where he grew up. He worked as a labourer in Yongala then by the age of 27 he moved to Adelaide where he was enrolled into the Australian Imperial force. He was a single man before he joined the army, despite living a very simple life, as he had no wife or children; he made a big sacrifice to join the army and fight for his country. In his Australian Imperial Enlistment form, it states before the war he was a non-married man who joined the force at the age of 27 and 9 months. He was 5 foot 9 inches and weighed 60 kilograms. His mother, Mrs Elizabeth Ann Threadgold is next in kin meaning she is his closest relative. He had done no previous service of any form in the military before WW1. He was then assigned and enlisted to fight in the 10th battalion and 16th reinforcement on the western front in 1916. This would have been quite a confronting experience for him because he had no previous experience in war or battles of any type as he was only a labourer.
Life and service on the Western front
Edgar George Fox was a ‘Private’ meaning he was the lowest rank in the war and fought on the front line. He departed from Adelaide on the ship HMAT Shropshire A9 on the 25 March 1916 and travelled with the 10th infantry battalion 13th to 23rd reinforcements to the western front to fight in the battle of Pozieres. The ships would’ve been very rough carrying thousands of men and the conditions would have been treacherous. This ship took the soldiers to Albany, Somme valley and the Western Front.
Fox joined his battalion in the field on 23 August 1916, when it was involved in the battle of Pozieres. On 1 October 1916 he was hospitalised with inflammation of the connective tissue in his leg and groin, which caused him to be transported to England for treatment and recovery. He spent the whole of 1917 in England either convalescing or in training units. Fox rejoined his battalion in France on 26 February 1918. He fought through the German spring offensive but was hospitalised for impetigo on 8 July. He only returned to his unit after the Armistice.
He later received two medals the British war medal also knows as ‘squeak’; soldiers received this medal for all that fought for the AIF. The second medal he received was the Victory medal Also known as ‘Wilfred’; this medal was given to soldiers who received squeak. This would have been an amazing day for Edgar as he survived the war and received two medals for his service.
Life after the war
After the war, it would have been extremely rough for Edgar George Fox. His family would have been very grateful as he did return to Australia on the 15/5/1919. This would have been an amazing day for him because he knew that he was truly safe. He married Clarabelle Belinda Fox at an uncertain date, but in 1929 the couple separated and in 1936 divorced. Edgar George Fox died on 22 September 1937 and was buried in the AIF section of West Terrace Cemetery.
Biography contributed by Jo Weeding
Edgar and Clarabelle married at Chalmer's Church on North Terrace (now Scots Church Adelaide Uniting) on the 26th July 1924.
Records show that Clarabelle had previously been married to an Augustus Fisher in 1910; both Augustus and Clarabelle's origins are somewhat mysterious.
Clarabelle indicates her father was Jonas Felix Levien, M.P. Victoria, in both of her marriage records and in the 1927 newspaper notice confirming her marriage to Edgar Fox. However, all of J Felix Levien's official biographies state he had 3 sons and one daughter, Ethel Eva Minnie Levien, who was living in the UK when Clarabelle married Augustus, and who married and remained there.
How Clarabelle was related is still a mystery.
Despite their separation and divorce, Clarabelle clearly still had a great deal of affection for Edgar, as a newspaper memorial (trove.nla.gov.au) published on the anniversary of his death shows:
FOX. —In loving memory of my dear husband, Edgar George Fox, No. 5094, C Company, 10th Battalion, A.I.F., who passed away on the 22nd of September, 1937.
A midnight charge.
Pass the word with the boys tonight.
Lying midst dying and dead.
Whisper it low; make ready to fight.
And stand like men at your horses' head.
—Inserted by his wife Belle.
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