FITZGERALD, Percy Maurice
| Service Number: | 6318 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 22nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Lower Buckland, Victoria, Australia, 1875 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Mining Dredge Engine Driver |
| Died: | Mont Park, Victoria, Australia, 2 November 1928, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Buckland Cemetery, Victoria Buried in a five-plot family grave in the Roman Catholic Section - possibly plot 53. This grave containing Percy, his parents, one sister and three brothers. (See "Personal Stories") |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 23 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 6318, 22nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 6318, 22nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Melbourne |
Percy Maurice Fitzgerald
Percy Maurice Fitzgerald was born in 1875 in the Lower Buckland Valley, Victoria. He was the youngest of ten children to James Fitzgerald, a Canadian immigrant and Margeret Frances Keane, from Galway, Ireland. Percy’s parents married at Beechworth in 1857. Although Percy records on his 1st A.I.F Enlistment Form that he is employed as a Mining Dredge Engine Driver, the Electoral Roles states that he was a miner. Pre his war service, Percy was a keen cricketer
On 12.10.1916, he enlisted in the 1st A.I.F. at Bright and was assigned to the 21st Battalion, 18th Reinforcements. Following initial training, he and his Battalion embarked at Melbourne aboard the Troopship “Hororata”. Disembarking at Plymouth, England on 29.01.1917. His overseas Military Service is listed as:
• Joined 6th Training Battalion - Lark Hill, Dorrington, Wiltshire.
• 14.02.1917 - Admitted to the Military Hospital, Fargo suffering from influenza and bronchitis.
• 28.02.1917 - Hospital discharge.
• 09.05.1917 - Departed Folkstone, England for France.
• 10.05.1917 - Marched into Etaples - France
• 13.05.1917 - Re-joined the 21st Battalion
• Possibly involved in the last few days of fighting in the Second Battle of Bullecourt?
• 01.08.1917 - To Hospital - sick.
• 08.09.1917 - Transferred to the 1st Auxiliary Hospital.
• 19.08.1917 - Embarked from France for England aboard the Hospital Transport “St. David”.
• 20.08.1917 - Admitted to the 1st Eastern General Hospital, Cambridge.
• 19.09.1917 - Hospital discharge.
• 19.09.1917 - 02.10.1917 - To Furlough - (Leave).
• 17.01.1918 - Depart for Southampton for France – ex Training Brigade, Sandhill Camp, Longridge, Deverill.
• 23.07.1918 - Wounded in Action – Gassed.
• 24.07.1918 - Hospitalised.
• 14.09.1918 - Discharged to Base Depot ▪ 18.09.1918 Re-joined the 21st Battalion.
• 13.10.1918 - Transferred to the 24th Battalion after the disbanding of the 21st Battalion.
• 23.03.1919 - Assigned to the Australian Graves
Detachment, based at Villes - Bretonneux, France.
• 11.08.1919 - Discharged to the convalescent Depot.
• 25.09.1919 - Departed England aboard the Transport Ship “Port Denison” and disembarked at Melbourne on 13.11.1919.
No records could be found of Percy Marrying or having children.
Percy Fitzgerald died on 02.11.1928, aged 53 years at the McLeod Sanatorium, Mont Park, Victoria. His burial date is unknown, but it would have possibly been a few days after his death in Melbourne, allowing time to transport his body back home to the Buckland Cemetery. Percy was originally buried in a full military grave but at some point, afterwards, it was removed, possibly by his relatives, to accommodate a five-plot family grave. This grave contains Percy, his parents, one sister and three brothers. After the construction of the family grave, his 1st A.I.F. Military Headstone was originally propped up against and behind this family's grave.
In 2023 OAWG’s, Canberra, along with the Bright R.S.L. Sub-Branch were advised of Percy’s dislodged military headstone situation in the Buckland Cemetery. This has resulted in the original old Military Headstone being returned to OAWG and a 1st A.I.F Bronze Military Recognition Plaque being substituted and mounted on the family grave. The inscription on the original old military headstone mirrors that of the new 1st A.I.F. plaque. Percy is also recognised in the Gardens of Remembrance - Springvale, Vic
Medals Awarded:
WW1 Victory Medal
British War Medal
Robert Scott
Beechworth, Vic 3737
Submitted 23 May 2025 by Robert John Scott