Australian Victoria Cross Recipient
Captain Clarence Smith Jeffries
Unit
34th Battalion
Born
26 October 1894 at Wallsend, New South Wales
Date of action
12 October 1917
Place
Passchendaele, Belgium
Details
During an advance on 12 October the first point of resistance encountered was two pillboxes east of Augustus Wood. Jeffries organised a bombing party and rushed one emplacement, capturing two machine-guns and twenty-five prisoners. He then led his company forward under heavy artillery and machine-gun fire to the objective. As the 34th prepared for the next stage of the advance it was harassed by machine-gun fire. Jeffries gathered another party of twelve men, and the group successfully captured two guns and thirty more prisoners. Jeffries was killed in the attack.
Died
12 October 1917
Buried or Commemorated
Tyne Cot Cemetery, Passchendaele, Belgium
Current location of the VC
Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle, New South Wales