Thomas Henry FITZGERALD

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FITZGERALD, Thomas Henry

Service Number:	7486
Enlisted:	Not yet discovered
Last Rank:	Private
Last Unit:	10th Infantry Battalion
Born:	Port Adelaide, South Australia, date not yet discovered
Home Town:	Ethelton, South Australia
Schooling:	Marist Borthers College, South Australia
Occupation:	Clerk
Died:	Died of wounds, France, 9 May 1918, age not yet discovered
Cemetery:	Ebblinghem Military Cemetery Ebblinghem Military Cemetery, Ebblinghem, Nord Pas de Calais, France
Memorials:	Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Rosewater Marist Brothers Port Adelaide Roll of Honour, The South Australian National War Memorial

World War 1 Service

30 Oct 1917:	Involvement Private, 7486, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: ''
30 Oct 1917:	Embarked Private, 7486, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Aeneas, Melbourne

A quiet hero from the Port of Adelaide

Among the many South Australians who answered the call in the Great War was Thomas Henry Fitzgerald — a young Adelaide man whose service reflected the courage, sacrifice and quiet determination of a generation.

Born in Adelaide and associated with the Port Adelaide district, Fitzgerald was educated at Marist Brothers and worked as a clerk before the war. Like so many men of his time, he left civilian life behind to serve the nation in its hour of need. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 26 May 1917.

Thomas joined the famed 10th Battalion as part of its 25th Reinforcement draft. (NAA, 2026)

The 10th Battalion held a distinguished place in Australia’s military history. Raised in South Australia in August 1914, it was among the first infantry battalions formed for overseas service. Men of the battalion landed in the first waves at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 and later fought with distinction on the Western Front in France and Belgium. Its battle honours included Pozières, Bullecourt, Ypres, Passchendaele, Hazebrouck and Amiens. (AWM, 2026)

Private Fitzgerald embarked from Melbourne aboard HMAT Aeneas on 30 October 1917, bound for war overseas. Like many reinforcements arriving late in the conflict, he entered a battalion hardened by years of fighting and heavy losses, where fresh men were urgently needed to sustain the line. (NAA, 2026)

In the spring of 1918, the battalion was engaged in desperate fighting during the German offensives in northern France. It was during this period, near Strazeele, that Thomas Henry Fitzgerald was wounded. Despite medical care, he died of those wounds on 9 May 1918, aged 28.

He was laid to rest in Ebblinghem Military Cemetery, far from the streets and shoreline of the Port Adelaide district he once called home. (CWG,2026)

His name is commemorated on Panel 59 of the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, where Australia remembers those who did not return. He is also commemorated at the National War Memorial on North Tce

Though Thomas’s life was cut short, his legacy did not end in France. He is remembered by descendants whose lives have continued in service to community and country — proof that the values of duty, resilience and sacrifice echo across generations. His story is not only one of loss, but of enduring family pride.

Private Thomas Henry Fitzgerald represents the thousands of ordinary Australians who stepped forward in extraordinary times. In remembering him, we honour all who served, all who suffered, and all whose families still carry their memory today.

Virtual
War Memorial
Australia