Capt
Clarence Smith Jeffries

Informationen zu Geburt

Geburtsjahr:
1894
Geburtsort:
Wallsend, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia

Allgemeine Informationen

Beruf:
Landvermesser

Informationen zum Armeedienst

Land:
Australia
Truppe:
Australian Imperial Force
Rang:
Captain
Einheiten:
 —  Australian Infantry, 34th Bn.  (Letzte bekannte Einheit)

Informationen zu Tod

Sterbedatum:
12/10/1917
Sterbeort:
Augustus Wood, Passchendaele, Belgien
Todesursache:
Im Kampf gefallen
Alter:
23

Begräbnisplatz

Tyne Cot Cemetery
Grabstelle: XL.
Reihe: E.
Grab: 1.

Auszeichnungen und Orden 3

British War Medal
Medaille
Victoria Cross
Medaille — 18/12/1917
Victory Medal
Medaille

Punkte von Interesse 2

#1 Geburtsort
#2 Ort des Todes (ungefähr)

Meine Geschichte

Captain Jeffries served in the Australian Infantry 34th Battalion, part of the 9th Australian Brigade of the 3rd Australian Division. At the end of September the 34th Battalion was transferred to Belgium where they found themselves in the middle of the Battle of Passchendaele. On 12 October 1917 the Battalion carried out a disastrous attack on Passchendaele itself. The Battalion’s jumping off line was what is now Tyne Cot Cemetery, and its final objective lay just beyond Passchendaele village. The 34th Battalion was the first Battalion to advance, followed by the 35th and 36th Battalion.

At 5.25 a.m., the barrage came down. It was very weak and it was difficult to determine, which was the own barrage and which was German shell fire. The advance was slow. A first obstacle, were two concrete pillboxes. One in the north of Augustus Wood and one to the northeast of Heine House. German machine-gun fire from those positions caused several casualties and held up the centre of the advance. Captain Jeffries organised a bombing party, which rushed the strongpoints. Four machine guns and 35 prisoners were captured. 150 yards in the rear of this strongpoint was a small trench in which were up to 30 Germans. An attacking party received the order to take control of the small trench. By now the 34th had s-suffered heavy losses and it was decided to send the entire Battalion up with the 35th and 36th Battalion, in the attempt to take control over the next two objectives. The Battalions reached the second objective, the Blue Line, but suffered heavy losses, from German machine gun- and shell fire.

At 3 p.m., the Battalions received instructions to hold the line at all costs. Eventually a new line was constructed from Defy Crossing on the Ypers-Roulers Railroas to the direction of Waterfields.

Capt. Jeffries was posthumous rewarded with the Victoria Cross. After the war the remains of Capt. Jeffries were found near Augustus Wood. He was later reinterred in Tyne Cot Cemetery

Dateien 2

Quellen 9

"A Short History of the 34th Battalion, AIF", E. Beaver and J.W.G. Meldrum. Carlton, Illawarra Press, 1957, pg. 22-24
Verwendete Quellen
"The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account", McCarthy C., London, Arms & Armour Press, 1995, pg. 113-115.
Verwendete Quellen
"VC's of the First World War, Passchendaele 1917", Snelling S., Wrens Park Publishing, 2000, pg. 227-230.
Verwendete Quellen
A.I.F. Project
https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=153075
Verwendete Quellen
Australian War Memorial
https://www.awm.gov.au/people/roll-search/all/?preferred_name=&service_number=&unit=&conflict=0&op=Search
Verwendete Quellen
CWGC
http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/463369/JEFFRIES,%20CLARENCE%20SMITH
Verwendete Quellen
National Archives of Australia
http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/SearchScreens/BasicSearch.aspx
Verwendete Quellen
The Long, Long Trail
http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk
Verwendete Quellen
War Diary, 34th Australian Battalion
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1000621/
Verwendete Quellen

Weitere Informationen 4