Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Grave: | Eastbourne (Ocklynge) Cemetery | X. 1677. | |
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.122 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 48B/55C GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | Companion of The Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael & St. George Legionne d'Honneur | ||
Family :
He was the son of the late Col. Sir Charles FitzGerald KCB.Education & Career :
Oswald Arthur Gerald Fitz-Gerald (sometime Fitzgerald or FitzGerald) went to Wellington College between 1888 and 1892.
He was in the Hardinge.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 18th King George's Own Lancers |
| Action : HMS Hampshire, Sinking of |
On Monday 5th June 1916, about 1 to 2 miles off Marwick Head in Orkney, by 7.50 pm, H.M.S. Hampshire struck a German mine and sank. According to an official MOD site the ships full compliment at the time of sailing was 655 men plus 7 passengers who were Lord Kitchener and his staff. The real number is described by Kitchener Hampshire website at 737. The bodies of over 100 officers and men were recovered from the sea and were interred into one common grave where they now lay to rest at the Lyness Cemetery, Hoy, Orkney. That is with the exception of Lieutenant MacPherson and Colonel Fitzgerald. Lieutenant MacPherson was was onboard the Hampshire in his capacity as a Russian translator and was buried in a separate gave in Lyness Cemetery. The body of Colonel Fitzgerald was taken to Inverness and then transferred to London for burial at the Eastbourne (Ocklynge) Cemetery in Sussex. The body of Lord Kitchener was never recovered from the sea and only 12 men survived the sinking of the HMS Hampshire.
See also: HMS Hampshire.
See also: Kitchener Hampshire.
He served on the NWF from 1897-1898. Promoted Captain in 1904 he served as ADC to Lord Kitchener CinC India between 1904-1906 and AMS to Lord Kitchener 1907-1909.
He served on the Staff as GSO3 in Egypt in 1911 and Military Attache (GSO2) for Egypt, Sudan and Abyssinia in 1912.
He returned to Lord Kitchener's staff as Personal Military Secretary from 1914-1916 and made a CMG in 1915.
Detail :
HMS Hampshire struck a German mine with the loss of 737 lives - including Oswald FitzGerald. Oswald FitzGerald's body was one of the few recovered and only one of two that were not buried in Lyness Royal Navy Cemetery, Orkney.
Citations & Commemorations :
“Colonel FitzGerald saved the life of Lord Kitchener in Egypt in 1912 in circumstances which were fully recorded at the time. A plot to assassinate Lord Kitchener had been formed, and Colonel FitzGerald having received information about it and having a photograph of the man who was to carry it out, was on the lookout for him, and detected him near the carriage in which Lord Kitchener was riding. Colonel FitzGerald fixed the would-be assassin with his eye and at the same time covered Lord Kitchener, so that had the man fired Colonel FitzGerald’s body would have received the bullet. Fortunately the man hesitated and was arrested.”The attempt was made at Cairo Railway Station.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Kitchener No. 2998 E.C. | Northern India |
| Joined : | McMahon No. 3262 E.C. | London |
| Joined : | Lord Kitchener No. 3402 E.C. | Cyprus |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
4th June 1906 | 26th June 1906 | 14th August 1906 |
Joined McMahon Lodge No. 3262 on 13th May 1909 at Quetta.
Initiated - Kitchener No. 2998 E.C. Northern India
Joined - McMahon No. 3262 E.C. London
Joined - Lord Kitchener No. 3402 E.C. Cyprus
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley