The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (3049) Private Francis William Gerald Fitzgerald, 11th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Charis May, the story for this day was on (3049) Private Francis William Gerald Fitzgerald, 11th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

3049 Private Francis William Gerald Fitzgerald, 11th Battalion, AIF
KIA 7 June 1916
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 19 May 2016

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Francis William Gerald Fitzgerald.

Known as “Frank”, Fitzgerald was born on 19 October 1896 to John Joseph and Catherine Fitzgerald of Fremantle, Western Australia. His father worked for the chief accountant’s branch of the Western Australian Government Railways in Perth. His mother died in 1908, and at least one of his siblings died in infancy.

Frank Fitzgerald enlisted in the Royal Navy in January 1913. He underwent his preliminary training in Melbourne before being posted to HMAS Cerberus for several months. At one point he ran away, but was recovered in August and continued his service. In October 1913 Fitzgerald joined the crew of the Encounter as an ordinary seaman. Once again his behaviour slowly deteriorated, and in March 1914 he deserted again. This time he was sent to prison for 90 days, and was discharged on completion of his sentence.

Fitzgerald left the navy with a full complement of tattoos on both arms and an inked wreath around his neck. Just a few months later war broke out in Europe. He tried to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force but was initially turned down for having varicose veins. However, he was accepted on another attempt in July 1915.

Private Fitzgerald left Fremantle on board the troopship Themistocles in September 1915. He sailed to Egypt, where he finally joined the 11th Battalion in January 1916. He continued training, and at the end of March he left with the 11th Battalion for France and the Western Front.

By late May the battalion was in a quiet sector, gaining valuable frontline experience. However, the area could still be very dangerous, and on 7 June the Germans fired three or four hundred shells at the Australian
positions, in addition to heavy sniper fire. At a point around midday, Private Fitzgerald was killed in action by a bomb thrown into his trench by the enemy.

Lieutenant Davidson was standing next to Fitzgerald at the time, and later wrote:
"the full force of the bomb caught him on the neck and he was killed outright, so that whilst dying the death of one of Australia’s heroes, he was given the privilege of a painless death, which, believe me, is a great
privilege in this terrible war."

In a letter to Fitzgerald’s parents he added:
"it may also be consoling to you to know that your boy was much respected in the battalion, and was a general favourite, and left a lot of friends here to mourn his death, which indeed was an honourable one, and he died a hero’s death doing his duty."

Private Frank Fitzgerald died a few months before his twentieth birthday. His father died shortly after the war, and there was nobody left in his family to pay for an epitaph on his headstone.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among more than 60,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private Francis William Gerald Fitzgerald, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms,
and in the hope of a better world.

Dr Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section