28th Battalion and 2nd Machine Gun Battaion Company Sergeant Major Frederick Michael Fitzpatrick MM DCM

19 years old on enlistment in June 1915, Frederick Fitzpatrick embarked at Fremantle on Anchises on 2 September for Egypt, and joined his battalion at Gallipoli on 12 October 1915.

After the evacuation and several months in Egypt, he sailed for Marseilles and joined his unit in the field.

On 16 August 1916 he was awarded a Military Medal for:
“...attending wounded under heavy shell fire in captured German trenches during attack on Pozieres on 5-6 August 1916. For carrying Private Warner back to Advanced Dressing Station and returning to duty in the forward trench - this man continued throughout the whole night until early morning until hit himself and badly shaken by high explosive shell."

The Sunday Times of 21 January 1917 (below) reported, "In a letter to his people his officer says: 'He acted splendidly in the fight, bandaging the wounded in a devilish fire for some hours. We consider a VC too small a reward for such conduct.' Pte Fitzpatrick was reported a little while back to be suffering from shell shock."

For his service at Broodseinde on 4 October 1917, he was recommended for the Distinguished Conduct Medal, for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. His citation read:
‘Whilst acting as a gun commander during the attack on the 4th October at Broodseinde he kept touch with his section officer the whole time under very adverse conditions. Going across in the attack, the man carrying the gun was wounded, and the gun was left in the mud. L/Cpl Fitzpatrick took his gun crew to the objective, placed them in a comparatively safe position, then went back, dragged the gun out of the mud, under extremely heavy shell fire, and brought the gun into position. Whilst in position the enemy dropped in a very heavy concentration of Artillery fire on his guns, and acting on his own initiative, he moved the guns and crews out into No Man’s Land, mounted his gun in a good commanding position, and so escaped the bulk of the shell fire. On being relieved on 10th October, two men of the gun crew were badly wounded. He remained behind, bandaged them up, and carried them to cover under very heavy barrage.'

While in England he became engaged to Miss Rose Brace of Walford, Hertfordshire, for whom he possibly had this photo taken, in London. He wrote to her from Cape Town in 1919 on his way back to WA, which appears to be the last communication between them.

He was discharged on 18 July 1919 and married Edith Marian McIntosh in 1920. In time, they had six children.

Neither lived into their old age. Frederick died in Cannington on 4 September 1948, aged 58, and Edith died in October 1959, aged just 67.

https://www.thesoldiersofbarrackstreet.com/company-sergeant-major-fitzpatrick-frederick-michael-7th-machine-gun-battalion?rq=fitzpatrick