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Eric was born in Ceduna on the 17th March 1917 to George Wishart and Edith Foggo. He was the third of five children, his siblings being William, Mary, Gladys, Laurel and Jean. George had served in WWI as had his brother, James. Initially they lived in Koonibba via Koolunga eventually living in the nearby town of Charra. To celebrate Labour Day each October, the school children, their teacher and parents travelled to Denial Bay for a traditional picnic and sports. In 1925 it was fortuitous that the Harbour Board’s goods shed was at the disposal of the large group of 70 students and 50 adults, to act as a wind break in the unseasonable weather. Large tarpaulins covered the floor for a very original picnic. Typically, the sumptuous spread of food, entertainment, children’s costumes and races were a highlight with Eric coming second in his 8 to 10 years age group. This was to be a pre-cursor to his sporting abilities in both tennis and football.
Tennis often fitted in with locals seeding in suitable weather but where possible many turned out as spectators for local competitions. Eric played for O’Loughlin, gaining a reputation as ‘The Colt’. In a match against Thevenard the West Coast Sentinel described him as playing wonderful tennis, taking the set at 6 – 3. This was attributed to Eric having ‘left off a habit of playing with a racquet minus important strings, and now uses an up-to-date affair which he is anxious to prove.’ In January, a holiday called Foundation Day, was also set aside for a tennis tournament at Denial Bay, but in 1963 the weekend was a real scorcher. Eric played four sets of singles and doubles, earning praise that he showed great promise and would soon prove a rival to the best. By ’35 Eric won the Gentlemen’s Handicap Singles, 6 -4 in what was described as a tight match but the best man won.
Similarly, playing football for Charra, Eric, nicknamed ‘Tick’ by now, was frequently listed amongst the best players. He had also gained a reputation for his public recitations, often being called upon at gatherings, including for his older brother, Bill’s 21st birthday, held in the cleared barn of his parents’ property and for Cabaret Dances at Denial Bay. He also performed at Silver Wedding Anniversary celebrations of a local couple and Celebrations for Don Trewartha’s 21st. (Don, two years older than Eric, served in the local Militia.) When the long serving teacher at Charra Plains School left to be married, Eric was asked to give a rendition of ‘Levinsky's Wedding’.
However, life was to become quite different for the out-going young farmer when WWII broke out. He enlisted on the 23rd June, 1940, aged 23, travelling by train to Clare to do so and thus becoming SX6533 in the 2/43rd Battalion. His initial training was at Wayville, the site of the current Adelaide Showgrounds, before continuing at Woodside in the Adelaide Hills. Appreciating the importance of letters to the young soldiers, the local ‘West Coast Sentinel’ each week published the rank, name, number and battalion of the men, most of whom at that stage were at Woodside, so that locals would continue to keep in touch with the new enlistees.
‘Tick’ had pre-embarkation leave in November of 1940, returning to a crowded Charra Hall for a social in his and Point Bell’s Denzil Brooks’ honour. In both cases the parents of the new soldiers had been pioneers of their district, so the families were particularly well known and respected in their communities. A number of speeches were made, praising the young men before they were then presented with farewell gifts from their friends. Dancing, games, community singing, followed by a traditional supper, concluded a very enjoyable evening.
Private Foggo then travelled to the Middle East but soon after arriving, contracted mumps and was hospitalised for a week. Within two months he was fortunate to survive a gunshot wound to his chest in April ’41, subsequently spending considerable time in hospital. While convalescing he met up with Ted Boxer 2/48th Battalion, whom he had known from nearby Penong, back home. Ted had been extremely fortunate to survive the fierce fighting at Tobruk, having lost his right leg from the knee as a result of an anti-tank shell, as well as a gun shot wound. Quick thinking by Ted partially stopped the bleeding by tying two scarves tightly around his leg then crawling to a nearby gully, where he was later found and taken to hospital, probably saved his life. Because of the severity of his injury, Ted was eventually evacuated to Australia. The ‘West Coast Sentinel’ re-printed a letter Tick sent to his Ceduna parents:
“I am writing this letter to send home with Ted Boxer; who has had the misfortune to have his right leg blown off. It will probably be quite a long time before he reaches home, but I can let you know where I was when I got wounded.
"Well, we went from Palestine up to Tobruk, and were really supposed to guard the place and do some more training, but we had only been there about a fortnight when Fritz came through from Tripoli. So all the troops that were up in the front of us withdrew to Tobruk, and we had to defend that at all costs. We were put out on one of the fronts in concrete dugouts, with a good barb wire entanglement round us, so we were good-o.
"It was Good Friday morning when Fritz's tanks came around our front, but our artillery opened fire upon them and turned them back. Anyway, they were about two miles off, and didn’t even fire a shot at us. But a couple of days later they brought a few artillery guns up with them, and from then on they often used to open up and whizz a few shells over, but none of them landed very close to our section. It was quite exciting with Fritz's shells and dive bombers. They make you duck your head all right, but we were 'sweet' in the dugouts.
"On April 24 our company was told that we had to take out a fighting patrol to try and capture an enemy post. There was fifty wanted, so they asked for volunteers, and I was one of the volunteers taken. Of course, you can guess how pleased I was to have a go at them. We set out at eleven o'clock that night, and by the time we contacted them it was about four in the morning, but what with rifles, machine guns, and mortars, they got too hot for us so we got the order to re tire. It was just then that I stopped my bit of shrapnel, and as far as I know it came from a mortar bomb. Anyway, I retired all right, and at no slow a speed! They whizzed a few slugs at us as we were leaving, but didn't hit anyone.
"I got back to our post at about half past five, and, of course, they took me straight to the hospital in Tobruk. Next day I left on a hospital ship for Alexandria. We got there about 10 o'clock in the morning on the 28th, and I spent the night in a 'pommie' hospital. Next day I came down here to Cantara, which is an Australian hospital. At Tobruk they put me to sleep with morphia while they dressed the wound, and the first thing I saw when I woke up was Ted Boxer two beds away.
"I am going back to base to-morrow, and I suppose it will be quite a while before I get back to the line unless they have cleared the road. I am anxious to get back again because they haven't frightened me yet.”
‘Tick’ finally returned to his battalion on the 15th July ’41. He carried a permanent scar on his chest as a reminder of his close brush with death.
Other news about local boys was readily shared back home. Arthur Trewartha SX11220, in the 2/43rd with ‘Tick’ was also convalescing in Egypt and reported that his wounded leg was still weak but that he had met with “Ron Denton, E. (‘Tick’) Foggo, Denny Brooks, and F. (‘Porky’) Yendall.” Coincidentally Arthur, ‘Tick’, Andy Brown, and Bill Emery plus the Yendell brothers arrived back in Adelaide at a similar time in March ’43 with the local Ceduna Cheer Up Club planning a social in their honour. All the men commented that they were glad to be home, with Tick speaking for them all in saying “Aussie was the best place after all, and the Aussie girls, "Well, there was none like 'em.'' On his return to training, ‘Tick’ placed a public notice in the local paper in appreciation of the social organise in his honour and also to the Penong Cheer Up and Charra Comforts Fund for parcels received.
Following training in Queensland, ‘Tick’ was posted to Milne Bay in New Guinea in August ’43. He encountered some challenges including being AWOL and contracting food poisoning but was particularly affected by the news of the death of his mother, aged 60 who had been in the Ceduna Hospital. He posted a ‘thank you’ in the West Coast Sentinel, Thursday 28 October 1943: ‘PRIVATE E. M. (TICK) FOGGO New Guinea, wishes to sincerely thank all kind friends and relatives for letters and cards of sympathy in the sad loss of his dear mother.’ He continued to place an In Memoriam to his mother each year.
By February, 1944, he, Arthur Trewartha and Malcolm Murray were all back home on leave. At the Annual Charra Sports and Social, ‘Tick’ was amongst those welcomed back and was again presented with a gift from the F.F.C.F. ‘Tick’s’ wit was still evident as he responded on behalf of the boys in a speech rippling with wit and good humor. In April that year, ‘Tick’ attended a welcome back for the three Yendall brothers, again managing to raise a laugh with his comment that “If Australia is not worth fighting for, other countries he has seen are not worth 2 ½ d.”
The Ceduna War Loans Committee came up with a novel plan to raise money. A photo of 12 local servicemen were selected. Points were then allocated for each donation credited to a particular serviceman, making a good-humoured competition for a most worthy cause. ‘Tick’, of course was one of the twelve men nominated.
At the conclusion of hostilities, ‘Tick’ returned to South Australia via Queensland, arriving on the 22nd November 1945. At his Welcome Home in January of ’46 ‘Tick’ shared his plans to move to Tasmania, living in Mawbana for a while. He met up with a few ex-soldiers, including Reg Keogh, who had been a P.O.W. and Robert Patrick from the Milita. This small group were charged with having ‘liquor in their possession near a dance hall’ and duly fined in their absence from court for the proceeding. When his widowed father plus James and Florence Foggo deciding to relinquish farming, Eric returned home to Charra for their community farewell in the packed local Hall in February ‘48. The families were praised for their efficient farming practices but also for offering the Foggo family home for many years to house Methodist Church services. Patriotic singing of the ‘Song of Australia’ and Auld Lang Syne concluded their farewell. Similarly, the RSL of which James was an active, energetic foundation member, having served in WWI, organised a fitting farwell.
Eric married June Horton, one of six daughters and a son of Arthur (Phil) and Liza Horton. June’s father lived at Horton, Tasmania with her and Eric until his death, aged 78 in November 1954.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee daughter of Bryan Holmes, SX8133 2/48th Battalion.