Year of birth: 1877

Place of birth: Woolmer Green, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom

Last known residence: Woolmer Green, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom

Profession: Labourer

Religion: Church of England

Country: Verenigd Koninkrijk

Force: British Expeditionary Force

Rank: Private

Service number: 269175

Enlistment place: Hitchin Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom

Units:  —  Hertfordshire Regiment, 1st Bn.  (Last known unit)

Date of death: 31/07/1917

Place of death: Schüler Farm - Artilleriegehoft, Langemark, Belgium

Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.)

Age: 40

British War Medal Medal

Victory Medal Medal

Alfred Jefferies was born in 1877 in Woolmer Green, the son of Henry and Emma Jefferies. It was a large family with eight children. On June 2, 1900, he married Susan Marvel. Together they had five children, Edith Susan, Frederick Alfred, Henry Leonard, Ivy Mabel and David John. When war broke out, Alfred enlisted. He initially joined the Bedfordshire Regiment, but was later transferred to the 1st Battalion, Hertfordshire Regiment. Alfred's battalion saw action on July 31 in the Battle of Pilkim, a battle that took place on the first day of the Battle of Passchendaele. The battalion suffered heavy losses.

Around four in the morning, Arthur and his comrades advanced toward Langemark, which was the target of the attack. The attack went according to plan until they crossed the Steenbeek River toward Langemark. Slachotffers were made by machine gun fire and snipers. Saint Julian was completely taken but partly due to barbed wire fences, they did not succeed in advancing any further. Due to a German counterattack on the left flank, the battalion had to. The casualty figures were enormous. 459 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing. The survivors dug in on the west side of the Steenbeek. Alfred Jefferies was killed just north of Schüler Farm. He currently rests in Tyne Cot Cemetery.

112 Infantry Brigade (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), British Army war diaries 1914-1922, WO 95/2590/2. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used

1881 England Census (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), RG11). https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used

1891 England Census (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), RG12). https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used

1901 England Census (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), RG13). https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used

1911 England Census (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), RG14). https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used

England & Wales, Birth Index, 1837-1915, General Register Office. https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/ Sources used

England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915, General Register Office. https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/ Sources used

National Army Museum; Chelsea, London, England; Soldiers' Effects Records, 1901-60 (NAM) 1991-02-333. https://www.nam.ac.uk/ Sources used

War Office and Air Ministry: Service Medal and Award Rolls, First World War (The National Archives, Kew (TNA), WO 329). https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ Sources used

West Yorkshire, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1813-1935, West York Archive service WDP53/1/3/136. https://www.wyjs.org.uk/archive-service/ Sources used

CWGC https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/463359

Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=176662de-10ed-44e4-9c7c-f3883517eec0

Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/2589729