4/1263 - Sapper

Michael

FISHER

Main Body - Section No.1

Timeline


1915

1915

4 October

Enlistment

Auckland Military District

1915

11 October

Initial training

Avondale, Auckland

1915

18 December

Transfer to England

S.S. Ruapehu

1916

1916

3 February

Marched in to the Company Training Camp, Falmouth

1916

9 March

Embarked for France

1916

16 March

From the Front

The Company joined the underground warfare in the North of France

Chantecler, Sector of Arras

1916

14 November

Awarded 14 days Field Punishment No.1 for disorderly conduct while under the influence of liquor

1916

16 November

From the Front

The Company began the operations to connect old underground quarries in Arras in order to accommodate thousands of soldiers for an upcoming battle

1917

1917

9 April

Battle of Arras

British Offensive


From the Front

The Company was employed to rebuild a major road leading to the Front during the battle

Arras-Cambrai Road

1917

29 April

Admitted to hospital with a gunshot wound to the head

1917

1 May

Embarked for England

Admitted to hospital

1917

5 May

From the Front

The Company moved to Monchy, ten kilometres east of Arras, to work on the fortification of the new front line

The Billets in Monchy

1917

24 May

Marched in to NZ Depot, Hornchurch

1917

9 June

Granted leave

1917

25 June

Marched in to NZ Depot, Christchurch

1918

From the Front

The Company was still carrying out the digging of underground premises and defences on the Front near Arras

The Workshop in Arras

1918

7 March

Detached to Cookery School, Greenwich

1918

21 March

Spring Offensive

German Attacks


From the Front

The Company was engaged in the defence of Arras by digging new trenches and dug-outs under constant enemy shellfire

1918

28 March

Marched in to NZ Depot, Boscombe

1918

26 April

Awarded 4 days confinement to barracks and forfeited 2 days pay by Royal Warrant for absence without leave

Embarked for France

1918

28 April

Marched in to NZ Base Depot, Etaples

1918

1 May

Rejoined the Company

1918

8 August

100 Days Offensive

Allied Attacks

1918

27 September

From the Front

The Company experienced its newly reconversion in bridge construction

In front of the Havrincourt Bridge

1918

11 November

Armistice

Cessation of Hostilities


From the Front

The Company continued to build bridges to reconnect a fragmented territory

Over the Sambre River, Maubeuge

1918

30 November

Admitted to hospital

1918

1 December

Diagnosed with bronchitis

1918

13 December

Embarked for England

Admitted to hospital

1919

1919

18 January

Transfer to New Zealand

S.S. Zealandic

1919

28 March

Final discharge

End of Service

Decoration

Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal

In recognition of valuable services rendered with the Armies in France and Flanders.

British War Medal
British War Medal

Victory Medal
Victory Medal

Sources and bibliography

  • Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, AABK 18805 W5537 98/0040216, Military Personnel File: Michael FISHER - 4/1263.
  • Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Online Cenotaph He Toa Taumata Rau: Michael FISHER.
  • London Gazette, 3 June 1919, p. 6919.
  • Nominal Roll of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, 1915. New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company, Wellington, Government Printer, 1916, p. 2.

How to cite this page

Anthony BYLEDBAL, “Michael FISHER (4/1263)”, New Zealand Tunnellers, 2024 (2009). Accessed: 22 December 2024. URL: https://www.nztunnellers.com/roll/details.php?id=269