Cpt. Jeffries VC, Abermain, NSW - Australian Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

In front of the Abermain "Roll of Honour" War Memorial granite column, is this information sign, detailing the service of Cpt. Jeffries.

There are two parts to the Historical Marker, being, "Abermain War Memorial", and "Jeffries VC Park". The first section reads:

"Most towns in Australia commemorated their local serviceman in one way or another. Abermain is no exception. More than 200 from Abermain enlisted in the Great War/WW1, and about 36 did not return to Australia.

"In 1919 the Abermain Patriotic Committee decided to erect a monument in front of the main portion of the School of Arts building in memory of the men who enlisted in the Great War/WW1 from Abermain. The committee 'could never hope to repay the living or express adequate appreciation of the dead, but they could by engraving on granite, hand down to their children's children the names of the gallant soldiers of Abermain, who had won glory that could never die.'

"On the 17th November 1919, the town's war efforts were crowned by the unveiling of a massive granite monument by Mrs Joshua Jeffries, mother of Captain Jeffries VC.

"The monument stood in front of the School of Arts until the mid 196 when it was relocated to Jeffries VC Park. To it were added the names of those who served in later conflicts.

"At the end of WW1 it was decided towns that laid claims to those awarded a VC would receive as memorials one of ten cannons captured by the 33rd Battalion. These cannons were captured on 8th August 1918 near the Hindenberg line in France. The guns were described as being 105 mm Howitzer German field guns, manufactured by Krupp in Germany. The gun was presented to the Abermain Patriotic Committee after four years of hostilities had ceased and was captured by the 33rd Battalion at Accroche Wood on the 8th August, 1918.

"In 19145, the matter of the memorial gun was discussed at a Kearsley Council meeting. It was reported, by Cr Opie that the old gun, a relic from the old war which was mounted on a vacant lot near the Fire Station, was unsafe and children playing around this gun were constantly in danger of injury. He had been approached by various organisations in Abermain to see if this memorial could be replaced. A meeting was held in Abermain on the 13th September 1945, and it was resolved to establish a war memorial and park. It is not known when the gun was removed from the park, or how it was disposed of."


On the right-hand side of the plaque/sign is a section specifically about Captain Jeffries. There is also a photo of him, and his citation.

JEFFRIES VC PARK

"By 1947, the people of Abermain had established their Memorial Park in honour of Captain Clarence Smith Jeffries V.C.

"The late Captain Jeffries V.C. was the only son of Mr Joshua Jeffries, Superintendent of the Abermain Collieries and Mrs Jeffries. In civil life he occupied the position of Chief Surveyor at the Abermain Collieries, a position he held for several years up to the time he enlisted for active service abroad.

"He had considerable military experience in the 14th (Hunter River) Infantry when he was called up for training at the outbreak of war. In February 1916 he was appointed to the A.I.F. with the rank of Second Lieutenant and was posted to the 34th Battalion, 3rd Division, embarking from Australia in May 1916 for England where he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.

"His promotion on the field was rapid and he took an active part in several of the big battles on the western front in which the Australians were conspicuous, particularly the battle of Messines, in which he was severely wounded. For his services in that battle he was promoted to the rank of Captain.

"It was during the latter stages of the third battle of Ypres, which commenced on 31st July, that Captain Jeffries won the Victoria Cross.

"The British attack on October 9th 1917, the first battle of Passchendaele, was unsuccessful and the Australians were brought back into the line to fight the second battle of Passchendaele on October 12th. During the 34th's advance the first part of resistance encountered was two pill-boxes east of August Wood. Jeffries organised a bombing party and rushed the emplacement. Jeffries leadership helped secure the first objective, an enemy garrison holding the pill-box at Hillside Farm. A couple of hours later, while advancing on to the second objective north of Defy Crossing, machine-gun fire from the right near Decline Copse began to take its toll on his men. Without hesitation Captain Jeffries, with several of his men, headed straight for the gun. As they neared it Captain Jeffries was hit. He died never knowing he would be awarded the Victoria Cross."

This printed aluminium sign is screwed to a galvanised pipe frame about 50 metres from the World War One memorial column in the park.

Visited: 1205, Sunday, 31 January, 2016

Age/Event Date: First World War: 1916-1919 Type of Historic Marker: Plaque only Type of Historic Marker if other: War Memorial monument is not specific to Jeffries VC Related Website: [Web Link] Historic Resources.: Abermain Heritage Conservation Society

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