Pvt William Fitzgerald #63343 was born on Mar 24, 1891 to Mr and Mrs. John Fitzgerald in Merrickville, ON. In 1911, He lived in Calgary in a boarding house owned by John Dennis at 110 2nd Ave. West and working as a ditch digger labourer. His uncle, Bill Barber, lived in Merrickville as well.
Pvt. Fitzgerald enlisted on Nov. 3, 1914 in Edmonton, AB at the age of 23 and was assigned to the 23rd Reserve Battalion. He was 5’9, 37” chest, single, with hazel eyes and brown hair. He listed his father, John Fitzgerald of Merrickville, ON as his next of kin, his occupation as labourer, and his religion as Church of England. Mrs. John Fitzgerald of Merrickville, ON received his pay of $15 per month. His father, John, lived in Bear Lake, Alberta at the time of his death and received his medals, decorations, plaque and scroll and his mother, Elizabeth Fitzgerald of Merrickville, ON received a Memorial Cross at that time.
Pvt Fitzgerald arrived in France on Apr. 26, 1915 with the 13th battalion and then transferred to the 14th battalion on May 8, 1915. While with the 13th battalion, Pvt Fitzgerald was wounded Sept. 16, 1915 in the face but was not seriously injured. On March 23, 1916, he was granted 10 days leave.
He was officially declared as dead on June 27, 1916 while with the 13th battalion in the vicinity of Maple Copse in the Halifax Trench. At 4am, the German artillery began an intense bombardment. At 5am, three German parties of about 30 men each attempted to take the Halifax and Vancouver Trench. By 5:30am, the attack was repealed by machine gun fire and the artillery fire stopped. A SOS signal was sent but no retaliation was done. At 8am, an Officer from HQ came to inspect but the observation post was destroyed so inspection was very difficult.
He is memorialized on the Menin Gate Memorial in West Vlaanderen, Belgium on panels 24-26-28-30.The Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, often referred to simply as the Menin Gate, bears the names of more than 54,000 soldiers who died before 16 August 1917 and have no known grave. He is commemorated on page 86 of the Book of Remembrance.
Pvt. Fitzgerald enlisted on Nov. 3, 1914 in Edmonton, AB at the age of 23 and was assigned to the 23rd Reserve Battalion. He was 5’9, 37” chest, single, with hazel eyes and brown hair. He listed his father, John Fitzgerald of Merrickville, ON as his next of kin, his occupation as labourer, and his religion as Church of England. Mrs. John Fitzgerald of Merrickville, ON received his pay of $15 per month. His father, John, lived in Bear Lake, Alberta at the time of his death and received his medals, decorations, plaque and scroll and his mother, Elizabeth Fitzgerald of Merrickville, ON received a Memorial Cross at that time.
Pvt Fitzgerald arrived in France on Apr. 26, 1915 with the 13th battalion and then transferred to the 14th battalion on May 8, 1915. While with the 13th battalion, Pvt Fitzgerald was wounded Sept. 16, 1915 in the face but was not seriously injured. On March 23, 1916, he was granted 10 days leave.
He was officially declared as dead on June 27, 1916 while with the 13th battalion in the vicinity of Maple Copse in the Halifax Trench. At 4am, the German artillery began an intense bombardment. At 5am, three German parties of about 30 men each attempted to take the Halifax and Vancouver Trench. By 5:30am, the attack was repealed by machine gun fire and the artillery fire stopped. A SOS signal was sent but no retaliation was done. At 8am, an Officer from HQ came to inspect but the observation post was destroyed so inspection was very difficult.
He is memorialized on the Menin Gate Memorial in West Vlaanderen, Belgium on panels 24-26-28-30.The Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, often referred to simply as the Menin Gate, bears the names of more than 54,000 soldiers who died before 16 August 1917 and have no known grave. He is commemorated on page 86 of the Book of Remembrance.