Charles Fitzner

In 1915 when he enlisted, Charles Pfitzner, did what many young men of German heritage did, he anglicised his surname. It was as 58 PTE Charles Frederick Fitzner that he served with 41st Battalion, AIF. This return is first mentioned here. He also added a 1/4 inch to his height to pass the then minimum of 5 foot 2 inches to ensure passage through the recruitment process. Charles appears in this photo of the 41st Battalion band.
We were fortunate in our search that Charles later changed his next of kin to his sister Alice. It was this that allowed us, after a convoluted search that took us from Queensland to Western Australia and back to Queensland, to find the Pfitzner family, and finalise our search.
Charles only had one child, Leonard, who was tragically lost while serving in the RAAF during WW2, whilst on bombing operations over Germany.
Charles's British War Medal will go to his nephew Alan, who has graciously accepted the responsibility of guardianship of Charles' medal.
Thanks to Barry of Gatton who sent the medal to me originally.
This takes the returned medal tally to 1033.