Clarence Jeffries - First World War

First World War

Following the outbreak of war, Jeffries was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Citizens Military Force on 22 August 1914. By this time he was in charge of the survey department at the Abermain Collieries, but was mobilized for home defence duties and the instruction of volunteers for the newly raised Australian Imperial Force at Newcastle and Liverpool camps. Appointed lieutenant in the Citizens Military Force during July 1915, he transferred to the Australian Imperial Force on 1 February 1916, with the substantive rank of second lieutenant, and was placed in command of C Company of the 34th Battalion. In May, the battalion embarked from Sydney for the United Kingdom, with Jeffries aboard HMAT Hororata. Arriving there in late June, the battalion spent the next five months training in England, during which time Jeffries was promoted to lieutenant.

In late November, the 34th Battalion was shipped to France for service on the Western Front. Initially posted to the Armentières sector in Belgium, the battalion did not participate in its first major battle until June 1917, when it took part in the Battle of Messines after the British and Dominion operations switched to the Ypres Sector of Belgium. During the engagement, Jeffries received a bullet wound to the thigh while leading a reconnaissance patrol and was evacuated to the 3rd General Hospital in London. While recuperating, he was promoted to captain on 26 June, before rejoining his battalion in September as a company commander.