Clarence Smith Jeffries
Encyclopedia
Clarence Smith Jeffries VC
(26 October 1894 – 12 October 1917) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross
, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British
and Commonwealth
armed forces. He was posthumously decorated with the Victoria Cross following his actions in the First Battle of Passchendaele
during the First World War, in which he led several parties of men in an attack that eventuated in the capture of six machine guns and sixty-five prisoners, before being killed himself by machine gun fire.
Born in a suburb of Newcastle
, New South Wales
, Jeffries was employed as a surveyor at a mining company where his father served as general manager following his completion of school. Joining a militia battalion in 1912, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant
upon the outbreak of war and tasked with the instruction of volunteers for the newly raised Australian Imperial Force
. Transferring into the Australian Imperial Force himself in 1916, Jeffries embarked with his battalion for service on the Western Front. Wounded at Messines, he was promoted to captain before being killed fourteen days short of his twenty-third birthday.
, New South Wales, on 26 October 1894. He was the only child of Joshua Jeffries, a colliery manager, and his wife Barbara, née Steel. Jeffries attended Dudley Primary School before moving onto Newcastle Collegiate and High schools. Apprenticed as a mining surveyor at the Abermain Collieries on the state's northern coalfields, where his father was general manager, Jeffries was noted as a cricket
er and a keen horseman who took a particular interest in breeding thoroughbreds. In July 1912, Jeffries joined the 14th (Hunter River) Infantry Regiment, Citizens Military Force
(CMF), as a private
under the compulsory training scheme, and was promoted to sergeant
a year later.
in the Citizens Military Force during July 1915, he transferred to the Australian Imperial Force on 1 February 1916, with the substantive rank of second lieutenant, and was placed in command of C Company of the 34th Battalion. In May, the battalion embarked from Sydney
for the United Kingdom
, with Jeffries aboard HMAT Hororata. Arriving there in late June, the battalion spent the next five months training in England
, during which time Jeffries was promoted to lieutenant.
In late November, the 34th Battalion
was shipped to France
for service on the Western Front
. Initially posted to the Armentières
sector in Belgium
, the battalion did not participate in its first major battle until June 1917, when it took part in the Battle of Messines
after the British and Dominion operations switched to the Ypres
Sector of Belgium. During the engagement, Jeffries received a bullet wound to the thigh while leading a reconnaissance patrol and was evacuated to the 3rd General Hospital in London
. While recuperating, he was promoted to captain on 26 June, before rejoining his battalion in September as a company commander.
, Belgium. Subject to several days of heavy rain, the battlefield had been transformed into a boggy marsh on which the attack was to commence. Jeffries commanded B Company during the attack, which he halted at the entrance to Broodseinde railway cutting, as many of the direction tapes leading to the starting position had been destroyed or swallowed in the mud. To avoid any mishaps, Jeffries and another of the battalion's company commanders, Captain T.G. Gilder, pushed on alone as far as Keerselaarhoek cemetery to find the tapes marking the battalions starting line for the attack. Thus, by 03:00 the 34th Battalion was formed up on the line of attack.
At the designated time of 05:25, the British opened up with an artillery barrage on the German positions just as the Australian forces entered no man's land
for the attack. Heavy machine gun
fire assaulted the troops from all directions as they bunched together on the firmer ground to avoid sinking in the boggy mud. Serious resistance was encountered at Hilside Farm, a strong point to the east of Augustus Wood in the centre of the highest part of the Passchendaele ridge. The position consisted of two pillboxes, supported by fifty metres of trench which was occupied by approximately thirty men with four machine guns. The fire from these machine guns forced the men of the 34th Battalion to seek cover on the exposed crest and threatened to halt the entire advance.
Jeffries, realising his force was suffering heavy casualties, quickly organised a bombing party of fourteen men and set about outflanking the pillboxes. Accompanying Jeffries was Sergeant James Bruce, a 39-year-old Scottish
-born miner who had worked for Jeffries' father at the Abermain Collieries. According to popular legend, Bruce had promised to look out for his boss's son, and remained at Jeffries' side throughout the attack. Working around the position, the party attacked the emplacement from the rear, capturing four machine guns and thirty-five prisoners
; thus reviving the advance. Jeffries then led his company forward under heavy artillery and machine gun fire to reach their first objective.
Despite the heavy losses which left gaping holes in the Allied line, it was decided that the next stage of the advance was to go ahead. At 08:25, parties from the 34th and 35th Battalions headed out along the south-eastern edge of the ridge towards the outskirts of Passchendaele. Almost immediately, they came under heavy fire from a pillbox close by a railway embankment, at which time Major J.B. Buchanan, the senior brigade officer with the advance party, fell dead, leaving Jeffries to assume control. Gathering a party of eleven men, he set about silencing the machine gun position. Edging across the open ground, the party attacked the position from the west just as the machine gun was firing to the north. Realising that an attack was imminent, the machine gunner switched around, mortally wounding Jeffries in the stomach and sending the rest of the party to ground. When its fire eased, the remaining members of the group worked around the position, rushed it and seized two machine guns in conjunction with thirty prisoners.
With the second objective only partially captured, the remnants of the 9th Brigade, battered by artillery and machine gun fire, were forced to relinquish their position and retreat back to their own lines. All that remained on the Passchendaele ridge of the 9th Brigade was the dead and wounded, among whom was Clarence Jeffries, who was later counted among those with no known grave.
on 18 December 1917. His citation read:
Severely affected by the unknown fate of his son's body, Joshua Jeffries set out for Belgium in 1920 in an attempt to discover his son's "lost grave". He returned to Australia disappointed, only to learn in January 1921 that Clarence's body had been exhumed from a battlefield grave on 14 September 1920, and re-buried in Tyne Cot Cemetery
, Plot XL, Row E, Grave 1. The body had been identified by a set of captain's pips, Australian numerals and the penciled initials "C.S.J." found on the ground sheet in which the body was wrapped. Three years later, Joshua Jeffries returned to Belgium once again; this time to pay his last respects to his son. As a debt of gratitude to the late Lieutenant James Bruce MC
, DCM
, who as a sergeant had assisted Clarence at Passchendaele before being killed himself on 17 July 1918, Joshua employed Bruce's two eldest sons as trainee mining surveyors at the Abermain Collieries.
Following a campaign by the citizens of Abermain, the Capt. Clarence Smith Jeffries Memorial Park was established in 1947, and upon Barbara Jeffries death in 1964, she bequeathed her son's medals to the Warriors Chapel at Christchurch Cathedral, Newcastle, where they are currently on display. Jeffries is also commemorated by photographic portraits in the Abermain Memorial and Citizens' Club and by a carved chair presented to Abermain Holy Trinity Anglican Church by his uncle and aunt in 1918. In 1976, the Jeffries and Currey Memorial Library was opened by the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Roden Cutler
, at Dudley Public School to honour two of the school's pupils who were decorated with the Victoria Cross during the First World War: Clarence Jeffries and William Matthew Currey
. The pair are also commemorated by the Capt. Clarence Smith Jeffries (V.C.) and Pte. William Matthew Currey (V.C.) Memorial Wall located in the grounds of Sandgate General Cemetery, Newcastle, which was unveiled in an official ceremony on 16 April 2000. The Clarence Jeffries Housing Estate at Bullecourt Army Barracks in Adamstown
is named in his honour.
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
(26 October 1894 – 12 October 1917) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
armed forces. He was posthumously decorated with the Victoria Cross following his actions in the First Battle of Passchendaele
First Battle of Passchendaele
The First Battle of Passchendaele was a World War I battle that took place on 12 October 1917 in the Ypres Salient area of the Western Front, outside the Belgian village of Passchendaele, during the Third Battle of Ypres...
during the First World War, in which he led several parties of men in an attack that eventuated in the capture of six machine guns and sixty-five prisoners, before being killed himself by machine gun fire.
Born in a suburb of Newcastle
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Jeffries was employed as a surveyor at a mining company where his father served as general manager following his completion of school. Joining a militia battalion in 1912, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
upon the outbreak of war and tasked with the instruction of volunteers for the newly raised Australian Imperial Force
First Australian Imperial Force
The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War I. It was formed from 15 August 1914, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Generally known at the time as the AIF, it is today referred to as the 1st AIF to distinguish from...
. Transferring into the Australian Imperial Force himself in 1916, Jeffries embarked with his battalion for service on the Western Front. Wounded at Messines, he was promoted to captain before being killed fourteen days short of his twenty-third birthday.
Early life
Jeffries was born in the Newcastle suburb of WallsendWallsend, New South Wales
Wallsend is a western suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district. It is part of the City of Newcastle local government area.- Origins :...
, New South Wales, on 26 October 1894. He was the only child of Joshua Jeffries, a colliery manager, and his wife Barbara, née Steel. Jeffries attended Dudley Primary School before moving onto Newcastle Collegiate and High schools. Apprenticed as a mining surveyor at the Abermain Collieries on the state's northern coalfields, where his father was general manager, Jeffries was noted as a cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er and a keen horseman who took a particular interest in breeding thoroughbreds. In July 1912, Jeffries joined the 14th (Hunter River) Infantry Regiment, Citizens Military Force
Australian Army Reserve
The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen Military Forces, the Militia and, unofficially, the...
(CMF), as a private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
under the compulsory training scheme, and was promoted to sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
a year later.
First World War
Following the outbreak of war, Jeffries was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Citizens Military Force on 22 August 1914. By this time he was in charge of the survey department at the Abermain Collieries, but was mobilized for home defence duties and the instruction of volunteers for the newly raised Australian Imperial Force at Newcastle and Liverpool camps. Appointed lieutenantLieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the Citizens Military Force during July 1915, he transferred to the Australian Imperial Force on 1 February 1916, with the substantive rank of second lieutenant, and was placed in command of C Company of the 34th Battalion. In May, the battalion embarked from Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
for the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, with Jeffries aboard HMAT Hororata. Arriving there in late June, the battalion spent the next five months training in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, during which time Jeffries was promoted to lieutenant.
In late November, the 34th Battalion
34th Battalion (Australia)
The 34th Battalion was a unit of 1st Australian Imperial Force, which was established in World War I. The battalion was formed in January 1916 as part of the 9th Brigade of the Australian 3rd Division. The bulk of the battalion’s recruits were drawn from the Maitland area and thus it was dubbed...
was shipped to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
for service on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
. Initially posted to the Armentières
Armentières
Armentières is a commune in the Nord department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in northern France. It is part of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole, and lies on the Belgian border, northwest of the city of Lille, on the right bank of the river Lys....
sector in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, the battalion did not participate in its first major battle until June 1917, when it took part in the Battle of Messines
Battle of Messines
The Battle of Messines was a battle of the Western front of the First World War. It began on 7 June 1917 when the British Second Army under the command of General Herbert Plumer launched an offensive near the village of Mesen in West Flanders, Belgium...
after the British and Dominion operations switched to the Ypres
Ypres
Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
Sector of Belgium. During the engagement, Jeffries received a bullet wound to the thigh while leading a reconnaissance patrol and was evacuated to the 3rd General Hospital in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. While recuperating, he was promoted to captain on 26 June, before rejoining his battalion in September as a company commander.
Victoria Cross
On 12 October 1917, the 34th Battalion—as a member of the 9th Brigade—was to take part in the 3rd Australian Division's attack on PasschendaelePassendale
Passendale or Passchendaele is a rural Belgian village in the Zonnebeke municipality of West Flanders province...
, Belgium. Subject to several days of heavy rain, the battlefield had been transformed into a boggy marsh on which the attack was to commence. Jeffries commanded B Company during the attack, which he halted at the entrance to Broodseinde railway cutting, as many of the direction tapes leading to the starting position had been destroyed or swallowed in the mud. To avoid any mishaps, Jeffries and another of the battalion's company commanders, Captain T.G. Gilder, pushed on alone as far as Keerselaarhoek cemetery to find the tapes marking the battalions starting line for the attack. Thus, by 03:00 the 34th Battalion was formed up on the line of attack.
No man's land
No man's land is a term for land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties that leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dumping ground for refuse between fiefdoms...
for the attack. Heavy machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
fire assaulted the troops from all directions as they bunched together on the firmer ground to avoid sinking in the boggy mud. Serious resistance was encountered at Hilside Farm, a strong point to the east of Augustus Wood in the centre of the highest part of the Passchendaele ridge. The position consisted of two pillboxes, supported by fifty metres of trench which was occupied by approximately thirty men with four machine guns. The fire from these machine guns forced the men of the 34th Battalion to seek cover on the exposed crest and threatened to halt the entire advance.
Jeffries, realising his force was suffering heavy casualties, quickly organised a bombing party of fourteen men and set about outflanking the pillboxes. Accompanying Jeffries was Sergeant James Bruce, a 39-year-old Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
-born miner who had worked for Jeffries' father at the Abermain Collieries. According to popular legend, Bruce had promised to look out for his boss's son, and remained at Jeffries' side throughout the attack. Working around the position, the party attacked the emplacement from the rear, capturing four machine guns and thirty-five prisoners
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
; thus reviving the advance. Jeffries then led his company forward under heavy artillery and machine gun fire to reach their first objective.
Despite the heavy losses which left gaping holes in the Allied line, it was decided that the next stage of the advance was to go ahead. At 08:25, parties from the 34th and 35th Battalions headed out along the south-eastern edge of the ridge towards the outskirts of Passchendaele. Almost immediately, they came under heavy fire from a pillbox close by a railway embankment, at which time Major J.B. Buchanan, the senior brigade officer with the advance party, fell dead, leaving Jeffries to assume control. Gathering a party of eleven men, he set about silencing the machine gun position. Edging across the open ground, the party attacked the position from the west just as the machine gun was firing to the north. Realising that an attack was imminent, the machine gunner switched around, mortally wounding Jeffries in the stomach and sending the rest of the party to ground. When its fire eased, the remaining members of the group worked around the position, rushed it and seized two machine guns in conjunction with thirty prisoners.
With the second objective only partially captured, the remnants of the 9th Brigade, battered by artillery and machine gun fire, were forced to relinquish their position and retreat back to their own lines. All that remained on the Passchendaele ridge of the 9th Brigade was the dead and wounded, among whom was Clarence Jeffries, who was later counted among those with no known grave.
Legacy
For his actions during the battle at Passchendaele, Jeffries was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross, the notification of which was published in the London GazetteLondon Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
on 18 December 1917. His citation read:
Tyne Cot Cemetery
Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front...
, Plot XL, Row E, Grave 1. The body had been identified by a set of captain's pips, Australian numerals and the penciled initials "C.S.J." found on the ground sheet in which the body was wrapped. Three years later, Joshua Jeffries returned to Belgium once again; this time to pay his last respects to his son. As a debt of gratitude to the late Lieutenant James Bruce MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, DCM
Distinguished Conduct Medal
The Distinguished Conduct Medal was an extremely high level award for bravery. It was a second level military decoration awarded to other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to non-commissioned personnel of other Commonwealth countries.The medal was instituted in 1854, during the Crimean...
, who as a sergeant had assisted Clarence at Passchendaele before being killed himself on 17 July 1918, Joshua employed Bruce's two eldest sons as trainee mining surveyors at the Abermain Collieries.
Following a campaign by the citizens of Abermain, the Capt. Clarence Smith Jeffries Memorial Park was established in 1947, and upon Barbara Jeffries death in 1964, she bequeathed her son's medals to the Warriors Chapel at Christchurch Cathedral, Newcastle, where they are currently on display. Jeffries is also commemorated by photographic portraits in the Abermain Memorial and Citizens' Club and by a carved chair presented to Abermain Holy Trinity Anglican Church by his uncle and aunt in 1918. In 1976, the Jeffries and Currey Memorial Library was opened by the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Roden Cutler
Arthur Roden Cutler
Sir Roden Cutler, was an Australian diplomat, the longest serving Governor of New South Wales and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth armed forces.-Early life:Arthur Roden Cutler was born on...
, at Dudley Public School to honour two of the school's pupils who were decorated with the Victoria Cross during the First World War: Clarence Jeffries and William Matthew Currey
William Matthew Currey
William Matthew Currey VC was an Australian politician in the Parliament of NSW, a labourer and railway worker, a citizen soldier and, whilst a member of the First AIF, an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy...
. The pair are also commemorated by the Capt. Clarence Smith Jeffries (V.C.) and Pte. William Matthew Currey (V.C.) Memorial Wall located in the grounds of Sandgate General Cemetery, Newcastle, which was unveiled in an official ceremony on 16 April 2000. The Clarence Jeffries Housing Estate at Bullecourt Army Barracks in Adamstown
Adamstown, New South Wales
Adamstown is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district. It is part of the City of Newcastle local government area....
is named in his honour.