Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Before the War
Herbert Edward Fox was born on the 22nd of May, 1882 in Paddington, London, England. He then moved to Australia on an unknown date and later married his wife, Florence Eleanor Fox. The two had a child, Herbert Hubert Fox, and settled down in Kensington, South Australia on Glyde Street. He was 5'10 with medium brown hair and blue eyes and his religion was Roman Catholicism. Herbert's occupation was as a soldier and he had served in the army for 17 ½ years, spending the first 13 ½ years of those in the Imperial Army before World War I. 

During The War
Herbert was 35 years & 3 months old when he enlisted on 16/8/17 in Mitcham, Adelaide. He was put in the 10th Battalion and was then assigned the position of Company Sergeant Major, although he enlisted late. This high-ranking position given to him was most likely due to his extensive military background and the need for more leaders in the AIF, as he was in the 25th Reinforcement. Herbert embarked for service abroad from Melbourne, Victoria two months later (30/10/1917) on the HMAT A60 Aeneas, a steamship converted into a troop carrier, where he was the Ship's, Sergeant Major.

Herbert disembarked in Devonport, England on 27/12/17 where he was on command at the Officers' Training School at the Candahar Barracks, Tidworth Camp in Wiltshire. During his time at the Candahar Barracks. Herbert was absent without leave from 4/3/18 to 25/4/18. A month later on 24/5/18, he had a District Court Martial held at Sutton Veny to determine the punishment for being absent without leave. He was charged and sentenced to forfeiture of the seniority of his rank. In addition to this, Herbert was to forfeit some of his pay. At first, Herbert was to forfeit 40 days pay, however, in the end, he forfeited 121 days pay.

A month later (24/6/18), Herbert embarked overseas to France, where he was involved in the Merris Campaign (May – July 1918). A difficult campaign because the AIF was fighting the second-largest German offensive. Merris, a small town in the far north of France (adjacent to the border of Belgium) was along the Western Front. The Merris region was important because Hazebrouck, a town in Merris, delivered food and supplies to the Allies. The AIF used 'snatch and grab' attacks by seizing German outposts after losing land to the German offensive. These attacks meaning that the AIF was constantly switching between being offensive and defensive.

Herbert's involvement started on 26/6/18, where he marched into the Australian Infantry Base Depot in Le Havre, France, carrying supplies with his battalion. This march was a success and the day after (27/6/18), his battalion was given orders to carry out a small operation, where they were to advance on the German offensive in an attempt to gain more ground in Merris. His battalion carried out these orders on 28/6/18 where they led a successful operation at 6 am and followed up with another successful attack at 6 pm.

In the following days from 29/6/18 – 29/7/18, Herbert and his battalion defended against raids, treated causalities, had parades for awards, trained for attack, sat in lectures, and prepared for combat. Finally, after a month of preparation and attacks, at 12:15 am on 29/30th /7/18, Merris was successfully taken.

Unfortunately, during this attack, Herbert was wounded from multiple gunshot wounds (GSW) to the face and admitted to the 3rd Field Ambulance. His injuries included having a GSW shell in his face, a maxilla fracture (upper jaw fracture), and permanent right facial paralysis. These wounds may have indicated to his bravery in war, as Herbert must have been on the front lines for enemy defenders to have had a clear shot of his head. Herbert was then transferred to the 13th USA General Hospital in Boulogne, France (1/8/18). A week later (8/8/18), Herbert was transferred to the Queen's Hospital in Sidcup, England. Whilst in hospital, on 7/9/18, Herbert was on a leave of absence and awaited further treatment.

Herbert was finally discharged from the hospital on 9/12/19 and granted leave until 20/12/18 when he had to report back to the No.2 Command Depot. He left England via "Takada", a steamer, on 25/12/18 and arrived in Fremantle, Australia. On 1/2/19, Herbert was absent without leave again, however, this time he was not punished. On 17/3/19, he was finally discharged from the AIF, deemed medically unfit.

After The War
Herbert did not leave the war unscathed as he had permanent right facial paralysis after being wounded in Merris.
Unfortunately, no other information could be found about Herbert Edward Fox after the war. His death date and Eleanor's (his wife) were not listed exactly in any sources. Their child, Herbert Hubert Fox married Olive Maie Fox and died 15/5/73 in Sale, Victoria.