Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Ezra Fisher is included on the Wooroolin WW1 Honour Board as R Fisher and has been a challenge to Find. He is also in the Photographic Memorial of the Great War at the Wooroolin Memorial Hall
Ezra Thomas Fisher was born 17 Feb 1895 at Gatton, the 3rd of 7 children of Thomas & Fanny Fisher. By 1909 Thomas, occupation Farmer, & Fanny were living on the Coolabunia Rd, Kingaroy and Thomas and his sisters Netta & Ivy were enrolled at Coolabunia School. In 1910 Ezra was appointed Pupil Teacher at Coolabunia School and is included in a school photo taken that year wearing a suit and tie. I don’t think he stayed there long as a teacher. The records show he left in Apr 1910 and his sisters in Oct 1910 when the family moved to Wondai.
Samuel Coe who married Mabel Crane at Wooroolin in 1910 was the cousin of Ezra. Samuels’s mother, Frances, and Ezras father were siblings. Ezra’s father owned the Railway Hotel in Youngman St, Kingaroy. It was destroyed by fire in 1918 and never rebuilt. Articles about the fire state Mr Fisher lived at Wooroolin.
By the time Ezra enlisted in the army on 18 Sep 1915 he was living in Brisbane with his mother giving his occupation as “Locomotive Cleaner”. It seems Mrs Fisher moved to Brisbane with her young adult children for a few years. By 1925 they were all married she moved back to the farm at Wondai.
The Army records for Ezra contain several letters that he wrote about obtaining medals after the war and as so interesting I have included extracts here.
Ezra joined the School Cadets at Laidley in 1906 and also the Senior Cadets at Toowoomba. On arrival about 1910 or 1912 at Kingaroy he joined the 5th Light Horse, the first ever formed per his letter. At the end of 1914 or early 1915 he was transferred to 9th Battalion Wynnum & Manly where he enlisted
“A couple of months after enlistment Ezra was transferred to the AMC training at Enoggera in the Field Hospital for a Nursing Orderly. He embarked on-board the HMAT Karoola A63 with the 15th Reinforcements of 1st AGH. On arriving in Egypt the hospital was found to be overstaffed and he was sent to AMF details at Tel-el-Kebar. Some days later he was sent to 1st Stationary Hospital on the Suez Canal. Being placed on the staff he worked as a Nursing & General Duty Orderly for about 6 months plus stretcher bearing during the fighting at Kantara, Katia & round about in early August 1916. He was also transporting patients on the Canal from Seraphina to Ismailia on the boat Indiana. When the 1st Stationary Hospital was taken over by the RAMC we were sent to Lemnos Island & there transferred patients from Salonica & Mesopotamia on the “Aquitania” & proceeded with them through the submarine area of the Mediterranean Sea to Southampton.
Patients unloaded we were sent to Details Camp, Tidsworth and soon after opened up the Hospital at Dartford as the 1st Stationery, which was afterwards renamed the 3rd Auxiliary Hospital. Ezra remained there until the was was finished.”
During his time at 3rd Aust Auxiliary Hospital at Dartford, 23 year old, Ezra met and married, 19 year old Typist, Elsie Pringle at the Parish Church St, Alban on 20 Jun 1918.
Thomas Ezra Fisher, 9519 3rd A.A.H.; Major returned to Australia in 1919 aboard the S.S. Shropshire, with wife and one child. Elsie and their daughter travelled back to the UK about 1925 and returned on the ship “Hobsons Bay” arriving in Brisbane in May 1925.
The family farmed at Byee for a few years before moving north. They were living in Bowen during the 1930’s where Ezra belonged to the local Rifle Club. He also won much praise for his collection of table vegetables at the Bowen Show - the most prominent vegetable exhibit, there being over thirty varieties, an amazing display for a back-yard gardener.
During WW2 Ezra enlisted in the 1st (QLD) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) Q200638 and per his file was serving at Bribie Island guarding the entrance to Moreton Bay at night.
Ezra died in 1970 and is remembered at Albany Creek Memorial Park where his wife joined in in 1986.