Japhet is the second cousin of my grandmother, Annie Louisa Hook (nee Fletcher) of Donald, Victoria, Australia.
From THE AIF PROJECT: Regimental number - 1704
Place of birth - Elphinstone, Victoria, Australia
School - Elphinstone State School, Victoria
Religion - Church of England
Occupation - Farmer
Address - Elphinstone, Victoria
Marital status - Single
Age at embarkation - 25
Height - 5' 9.25"
Weight - 146 lbs
Next of kin - Father, Mr Isaac Fletcher, Elphinstone, Victoria
Previous military service - Nil
Enlistment date - 16 February 1916
Place of enlistment - Melbourne, Victoria
Rank on enlistment - Private
Unit name - 57th Battalion, 2nd Reinforcement AWM Embarkation Roll number - 23/74/3
Embarkation details - Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A14 'Euripides' on 4 April 1916 Rank from Nominal Roll - Private
Unit from Nominal Roll 59th Battalion
Fate - Killed in Action 19 July 1916
Place of death or wounding Pozieres, Somme Sector, France Age at death - 26
Age at death from cemetery records 25
Place of burial - No known grave
Commemoration details V.C. Corner (Panel No 16), Australian Cemetery Memorial, Fromelles, France
Panel number, Roll of Honour, Australian War Memorial 167
Other details War service: Egypt, Western Front Taken on strength, 59th Bn, Ferry Post, 24 May 1916. Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 18 June 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 29 June 1916. Reported Missing, 19 July 1916.
Court of Enquiry, held in the field, 29 August 1917, pronounced fate as 'Killed in Action, 19 July 1916'. Handwritten note on Form B103: 'Presumed Buried in No Man's Land approx 5J90 43 to 5K02.5.1 Sheet Hazebrouck 5A'. Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal
Cousin: Lt. Col. W.E. James, DSO & BAROn 19 July 1916, the 59th became embroiled in its first major battle on the Western Front, less than a month after it arrived in France. The battle of Fromelles was a disaster for the 59th. Attacking in the first wave, the 59th suffered heavy casualties at the hands of German machine-gunners, and its advance faltered far short of its objective. Despite grievous losses, the units of the 5th Division manned the front line around Fromelles for a further two months.
Japhet Money Fletcher is
His nephew Hal Pope wrote a letter to me on 7 July 2009 that contained this information:
Dear Lostredsock,
I am busy with the war memorial at Canberra waiting for more details of (Jeff) Japhet Money Fletcher
who was killed at Pleasant Wood, Fromelles, France. They think there is a good chance of finding Japhet's body in the mass grave. We are hoping they will find his body there.
Fletcher-Buchanan-Blackmore-Hook genealogy and other lines can be viewed at my publically available tribalpages : My Family Up a Tree.
http://fletcherandhook.tribalpages.com/Basic free reports can be printed off.
PS: Jeff's middle name is the surname of his maternal grandmother, Ann MONEY [1821-1896].
