4/1348 - Sapper

John

FITZGIBBON

Main Body - Section No.2

Timeline


1915

1915

6 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

28 June

Admitted to hospital with pyrexia

1916

5 July

Rejoined the Company

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

1916

31 December

Awarded 28 days Field Punishment No.1 for being out of bounds

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

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
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

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

15 May

Admitted to hospital with inflammation of glands in the neck

1918

5 June

Embarked for England

1918

7 June

Admitted to hospital

1918

23 July

Granted leave

1918

6 August

Marched in to NZ Depot, Torquay

1918

8 August

100 Days Offensive

Allied Attacks

1918

7 September

Transfer to New Zealand

S.S. Remuera

1918

11 November

Armistice

Cessation of Hostilities

1919

1919

3 January

Final discharge

End of Service

Decoration

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 100/0040403, Military Personnel File: John FITZGIBBON - 4/1348.
  • Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Online Cenotaph He Toa Taumata Rau: John FITZGIBBON.
  • Nominal Roll of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, 1915. New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company, Wellington, Government Printer, 1916, p. 3.

How to cite this page

Anthony BYLEDBAL, “John FITZGIBBON (4/1348)”, New Zealand Tunnellers, 2024 (2009). Accessed: 28 March 2024. URL: https://www.nztunnellers.com/roll/details.php?id=271