Clarence Jeffries

He led attacks at Passchendaele and captured the enemy guns.

Clarence Smith Jeffries was born at Wallsend, New South Wales, on 26 October 1894. Before the war, he worked as a mining surveyor and took part in the militia. He was helping train volunteers for the Australian Imperial Force when he received a commission in the 34th Battalion in 1916. He sailed for England that May, later joined his battalion on the Western Front, and was promoted to captain in June 1917.

On 12 October 1917, during the attack at Passchendaele, Jeffries’s company was stopped by machine-gun fire from concrete emplacements. He organised and led a party against one position, capturing four machine guns and thirty-five prisoners. He then led his company forward under heavy artillery and enfilading machine-gun fire. When another machine-gun post delayed the battalion’s advance, he led a second attack, capturing two more guns and thirty prisoners. Jeffries was killed during this action. His initiative kept the centre of the attack moving, and his example inspired the men around him. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery.

The attack was part of the costly Australian assault at Passchendaele. The 34th Battalion suffered severe losses and was forced back to its original lines by the end of the day. Jeffries was initially buried near the battlefield. His father searched for his grave after the war, and it was later identified at Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium. The Australian War Memorial records that Jeffries was 22 years old at his death.

Victoria Cross citation

“For most conspicuous bravery in attack, when his company was held up by enemy machine-gun fire from concrete emplacements. Organising a party, he rushed one emplacement, capturing four machine guns and thirty-five prisoners. He then led his company forward under extremely heavy enemy artillery barrage and enfilade machine-gun fire to the objective. Later, he again organised a successful attack on a machine-gun emplacement, capturing two machine guns and thirty more prisoners. This gallant officer was killed during the attack, but it was entirely due to his bravery and initiative that the centre of the attack was not held up for a lengthy period. His example had a most inspiring influence.”