Collie-Cardiff RSL remembers local Fisher brothers

Updated July 2 2021 - 2:30am, first published December 2 2019 - 9:00am

48th Australian Infantry Battalion

The 48th Battalion was raised in Egypt on 16 March 1916 as part of the "doubling" of the AIF. Roughly half of its new recruits were Gallipoli veterans from the 16th Battalion, and the other half, fresh reinforcements from Australia. As with the 16th, the men of the new battalion hailed mainly from regional South Australia and Western Australia. The 48th's first major battle on the Western Front was Pozieres. Here, it was tasked with defending ground captured in earlier attacks by the 2nd Division and entered the firing line on two separate occasions, 5 to 7 and 12 to 15 August. During the former period the battalion endured what was said to be heaviest artillery barrage ever experienced by Australian troops and suffered 598 casualties (A Battalion in WW1 consisted of around 1000 men, in two days the 48th Battalion had lost over half its strength). Among those casualties were 'Collie Boys', brothers, Osborne and Walter Stanley FISHER.

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