Branch of Service

Army

Conflict

World War I (1914-1918)

Date of Enlistment

13/10/1914

Place of Enlistment

Melbourne, Victoria

Gender

Male

Place of Birth

Hull, England

Address (at enlistment)

Burnley, Victoria (previously the Royal Military College, Duntroon ACT)

Occupation

Gymnastics instructor

Next of Kin

Husband of Martha Feetam of Belgravis Street, Bunrley, Victoria and father of three children. Son of Seymour and Annie Feetam of England.

Burial Place

Courtney's and Steel's Post Cemetery, Gallipoli, Turkey, Special Memorial 9

Service Number

1546

Final Rank

Private

Final Unit

14 Battalion AIF

Died 2 May 1915, Gallipoli, aged 48 years

AWM Roll of Honour Memorial Panel 72, Canberra ACT

Feetam spent 19 years as an instructor at the Royal Field Artillery gymnasium in Woolwich, England before migrating to Australia in 1911 with his family. He was appointed as the physical training instructor at the Royal Military College, Duntroon on 18 June 1911. In August 1911 he was commended for helping to put out a fire at Duntroon House though he was discharged on 31 December 1911 after being found drunk on parade.

He landed on Gallipoli with B Company of the 14th Battalion on 27 April 1915 and they were sent up to the front line at what became known as Quinn's Post and Courtney's Post. On 2 May Feetam was part of a reserve behind the 16th Battalion which was attempting to attack from Pope's Hill towards the Chessboard as part of an attempt to seize the position known as Baby 700. He was killed in action during the fighting.

Some sources incorrectly refer to him as Henry Joseph Feetam.

Description - height 5 feet 4 inches, weight 133 pounds, chest 34-36½ inches, medium complexion, blue eyes, brown hair, Church of England, had previously had smallpox, eyesight slightly defective, no civil convictions.

Newton Wanliss. 'The History of the Fourteenth Battalion AIF', 1929
WWI Nominal Roll http://www.awm.gov.au/nominalrolls/ww1
AWM First World War Unit Embarkation Rolls
AWM Roll of Honour Database
AWM Roll of Honour Circular
NAA RecordSearch - Series B2455 (First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920)
Argus - 2 June 1915, 3 June 1915, 5 June 1915, 2 May 1917
Queanbeyan Age - 25 August 1911