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Clarence Smith Jeffries
Clarence Smith Jeffries, VC (26 October 1894 – 12 October 1917) was an Australian mining surveyor, soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross following his actions in the First Battle of Passchendaele during the First World War, in which he led several parties of men in an attack that led to the capture of six machine guns and sixty-five prisoners, before being killed himself by machine gun fire. Born in a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Jeffries was employed as a surveyor at a mining company where his father served as general manager. Joining a militia battalion in 1912, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant upon the outbreak of war and tasked with the instruction of volunteers for the newly raised Australian Imperial Force. Transferring into the Australian Imperial F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wallsend, New South Wales
Wallsend is a western suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, from Newcastle's central business district. It is split between the local government areas of City of Newcastle and City of Lake Macquarie. History The Awabakal and Worimi peoples are acknowledged by City of Newcastle as the traditional custodians of the land situated within the Newcastle local government area, including wetlands, rivers, creeks, and coastal environments. It is known that their heritage and cultural ties to Newcastle date back tens of thousands of years. Lieutenant Edward Close, an engineer and founder of Morpeth, recorded that part of the Wallsend area was called Barrahinebin by the Aboriginal custodians. Close reported that Barrahinebin was used to describe the area bounded by the Hunter River, Ironbark Creek and Mount Sugarloaf. Wallsend was named after a North of England coal mining township, initially built at the end of a Roman defensive wall, a town to the east of Newcast ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Passendale
Passendale () or Passchendaele ( , ; ) is a rural Belgian village in the Zonnebeke municipality of West Flanders province. It is close to the town of Ypres, situated on the hill ridge separating the historical wetlands of the Yser and Leie valleys. It is also commonly known as a battlefield and the name of a campaign during World War I, the Battle of Passchendaele. History Early history In the pre-Roman and Roman times the area of the town was located along the border between the Menapii and Morini Belgic tribes of northern Gaul and later the border between the bishoprics of Tournai and Thérouanne. The town is first recorded in 844 as Pascandale, and may be named after an individual by the name of Paulus or Pasko. In the Middle Ages, most of the region was ruled by the Augustine abbey of Zonnebeke and the Benedictine convent of Nonnebossen. Both the abbey and the convent were destroyed during an iconoclasm ('' Beeldenstorm'') of 1580. First World War Passchendaele Ridge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
3rd Division (Australia)
The 3rd Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. Existing during various periods between 1916 and 1991, it is considered the "longest serving Australian Army division". It was first formed during World War I, as an infantry division of the Australian Imperial Force and saw service on the Western Front in France and Belgium. During this time it fought major battles at Messines, Broodseinde Ridge, Passchendaele, Amiens, and the St Quentin Canal. The division was demobilised in 1919 before being re-raised in 1921 as part of the Citizen Forces, based in central Victoria. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the division's establishment fluctuated due to the effects of the Great Depression and a general apathy towards military matters. During World War II, the division was mobilised for war in December 1941 and initially undertook defensive duties in Australia before being deployed to New Guinea in 1943 where they took part in the Salamaua–Lae campaign agains ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
9th Brigade (Australia)
The 9th Brigade is a Reserve formation of the Australian Army headquartered at Keswick Barracks in Keswick, South Australia, with elements located in New South Wales and South Australia. The brigade was first raised in 1912 in New South Wales following the introduction of the compulsory training scheme. During World War I, the brigade was formed as part of the First Australian Imperial Force in 1916, with the majority of its recruits coming from New South Wales. It was assigned to the 3rd Division, and training was carried out in the United Kingdom before the brigade was committed to the fighting on the Western Front in November 1916. It fought in numerous battles in France and Belgium for the next two years. After the war, the brigade was disbanded, but was re-raised as a part-time formation in the Sydney area. During World War II, the brigade was mobilised for defensive duties, but did not see active service before it was disbanded in June 1944. In the post war period, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
C S Jeffries 1915 Portrait
C, or c, is the third letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''. History "C" comes from the same letter as "G". The Semites named it gimel. The sign is possibly adapted from an Egyptian hieroglyph for a staff sling, which may have been the meaning of the name ''gimel''. Another possibility is that it depicted a camel, the Semitic name for which was ''gamal''. Barry B. Powell, a specialist in the history of writing, states "It is hard to imagine how gimel = "camel" can be derived from the picture of a camel (it may show his hump, or his head and neck!)". In the Etruscan language, plosive consonants had no contrastive voicing, so the Greek ' Γ' (Gamma) was adopted into the Etruscan alphabet to represent . Already in the Western Greek alphabet, Gamma first took a '' form in Early Etruscan, then '' in Classical Etru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ypres
Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote. Together, they are home to about 34,900 inhabitants. During the First World War, Ypres (or "Wipers" as it was commonly known by the British troops) was the centre of the Battles of Ypres between German and Allied forces. History Origins Ypres is an ancient town, known to have been raided by the Romans in the first century BC. It is first mentioned by name in 1066 and is probably named after the river Ieperlee on the banks of which it was founded. During the Middle Ages, Ypres was a prosperous Flemish city with a population of 40,000 in 1200 AD, renowned for its linen trade with England, which w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armentières
Armentières (; , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fière'' (Poor but proud). Geography Armentières lies on the Belgium, Belgian border, northwest of the city of Lille, on the right bank of the river Lys (river), Lys. History In 1668, the town became French, along with most of the rest of French Flanders. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, Armentières acquired fame, being the "City of Fabric". Industrial weaving, Spinning (textiles), spinning and brewing grew in Armentières, benefitting from the presence of water. Armentières particularly suffered during the World Wars although the town received two Military Crosses, one for World War I and the second for the Second World War and the Legion d'Honneur. In Armentières and the surrounding areas, the military ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commissioned Officer
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent contextual qualification, the term typically refers only to a force's ''commissioned officers'', the more senior members who derive their authority from a commission from the head of state. Numbers The proportion of officers varies greatly. Commissioned officers typically make up between an eighth and a fifth of modern armed forces personnel. In 2013, officers were the senior 17% of the British armed forces, and the senior 13.7% of the French armed forces. In 2012, officers made up about 18% of the German armed forces, and about 17.2% of the United States armed forces. Historically armed forces have generally had much lower proportions of officers. During the First World War, fewer than 5% of British soldiers were officers (partly beca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sergeant
Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage from the British light infantry. The word "sergeant" derives from the Latin , 'one who serves', through the Old French term . In modern hierarchies the term ''sergeant'' refers to a non-commissioned officer positioned above the rank of a corporal, and to a police officer immediately below a lieutenant in the US, and below an inspector in the UK. In most armies, the rank of sergeant corresponds to command of a team/section (military unit), section, or squad. In Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth armies, it is a more senior rank, corresponding roughly to a platoon second-in-command. In the United States Army, sergeant is a more junior rank corresponding to a fireteam leader or assistant squad-leader; while in the United States Marine Corps ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conscription In Australia
Conscription in Australia, also known as National Service following the Second World War, has a controversial history which dates back to the implementation of compulsory military training and service in the first years of Australia's nationhood. Military conscription for peacetime service was abolished in 1972. However, in times of war, the '' Defence Act 1903'' allows the Governor-General of Australia to authorise conscription for service in the Defence Force, provided it is approved by the Parliament of Australia within 90 days. History Universal Training Scheme In 1909, the Deakin government introduced an amendment to the '' Defence Act 1903'', the ''Defence Act 1909'', which allowed for a form of conscription for boys from 12 to 14 years of age and for youths of 18 to 20 years of age for the purposes of home defence. The Act, which passed with the combined support of the Protectionist Party and the Australian Labor Party, did not allow soldiers to be conscripted for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
