Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Edward Jeffery
Before the War
Edward Jeffery (see fig.1) was born in Unley South Australia on the 23rd of April 1893 (AIF, 2016). He lived with his mother, Mrs Jeffery, his older brother, William, and his father until he passed when Edward was three. Edwards father, also named William, passed due to an incident at work. For a few years they lived in Broken Hill after Edward’s mother remarried, before moving to Rosewater. Edward’s mother and stepfather had two sons and a daughter, making them Edward’s half siblings. Unfortunately, his half-sister died as an infant (Jeffery, 2022). Edward was said to be a well-known young man in Rosewater (Daily Herald, 1915). He worked as a Sawyer’s assistant in Port Adelaide at the Lion Timber Mills. He was active in the Timber Workers Union and was described as a ‘good unionist’ (Daily Herald, 1919). He was a member of the Church of England although he was not very active in the church (Jeffery, 2022). Prior to joining the Australian Imperial Force in World War One he served in the Senior Navel Cadets for two years until he left on his ‘own accords’ (AIF Attestation Paper, 1914).
Enlistment
Edward Jeffery enlisted in the war on the 24th of November 1914 in Oaklands, South Australia (Virtual War Memorial, 2022). He enlisted seeking an adventure, but his main motivation was to do his part in protecting Australia. He knew that enlisting was the best way he, a single young man, could help. Upon enlisting he was accompanied by his friend John Stone who also enlisted at the same time as Edward (Jeffery, 2022). He became a part of the 10th Battalion, 2nd Reinforcement and was given the regimental number 1365 (Virtual War Memorial, 2022).
During the War
Edward was formally trained in Morphettville before he embarked on the HMAT A46 Clan McGillivray from Melbourne on the 2nd of February 1915 (Kearney, 2005, pg.23) (Australian War Memorial, 2022). They arrived in Egypt on the 29th of December 1915 and underwent further training (Australian War Memorial, 2022).
Edward was part of a group in the 10th Battalion which embarked the Ionian, which was also referred to as the ‘One Onion’ by the troops, on the 2nd of March 1915 (Casualty Form, 1915). On around the 8th of March 2000 the 10th Battalion arrived at the Greek island of Lemnos, only 100 kilometres from the Gallipoli Peninsula. Due to a freshwater shortage the 10th Battalion was forced to ‘make the Ionian their home’ for just over 7 weeks. The conditions were anything but desirable. The Ionian did not have a lot of beds and many of the men had to sleep on the floor. Food quality was poor, and they were forced to stick to water restrictions (Kearney, 2005, p.69).
He embarked on the H.M.S Prince of Wales as a member of B company (Kearney, 2005, p.77), starting the voyage from their base to the Gallipoli Peninsula. On the 25th of April the battalion reached the peninsula and disembarked. As seen in fig. 2, Edward wrote claiming he did quite well from 10-11 o’clock that morning until he was ‘wounded in the left leg by shrapnel’. While under Turkish fire he spent two hours crawling back to the beach for assistance. Edward commended the excellent treatment he and other soldiers received at Malta Hospital, claiming they ‘were practically all on brooms and mops’. Edward’s mother, Mrs Wynes, received a letter written by Edward detailing these events. This letter was published by the Daily Herald on the 10th of June 1915 with the consent of his mother (Daily Herald, 1915).
After withdrawing from Gallipoli in December 1915, Edward and the rest of the 10th Battalion returned to Egypt (Australian War Memorial, 2022). To provide the 50th battalion with some experienced men, some of the 10th Battalion were transferred to the 50th battalion. Edward was a part of this group and was transferred on the 27th of February 1916 as seen in fig. 3. Not long after this he was taken on strength to the 4th division field artillery on the 14th of March 1916 (Casualty Form, 1916).
During mid 1916 the 4th division field artillery was disembarked in France to support the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front. Whilst fighting on the Western Front in July 1916 Edward suffered from Otorrhea which is excessive discharge leaking from the ear, potentially caused by artillery noise (Doctors Health Editorial Team, 2017). He was admitted to hospital for this condition in France. He also acquired a burst ear drum which was likely caused by shock wave from artillery (Casualty Form, 1916).
On the 20th of June 1916, whilst in France, Edward was found being in town without a pass (Casualty Form, 1916). During World War One Australians developed a reputation for being free-spirited and occasionally reckless and Edward’s crime fits that narrative (Jeffery, 2022).
Edward embarked the Burmah on the 14th of December 1918 and returned to Australia in late January 1919. Edward applied for the Gallipoli Medallion on the 25th of April 1915, as seen in fig.4, which he later received. (AIF Transfer Form, 1919) (Daily Herald, 1919). He was also awarded the 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal, and the Inter Allied Victory Medal as seen in fig. 5.

Life After the War
Edward earned five shillings a day, of which four were sent home to his mother to be saved for his return, and one shilling he kept for himself (AIF Nominal Roll, n.d.). Unfortunately, when he arrived home, he found his mother had used the money to live off as his stepfather was not a good provider (Jeffery, 2022).
Once Edward had returned home, he returned to his job as a sawyer. He got married on the 26th of July 1924 to Jessie Dunlop and bought a house at 27 Helen Street, Pennington, South Australia. During the Depression Edward was out of work and so they rented out their house and moved to Naracoorte. Not long after this move, he moved to Mount Burr so Edward could work at the new sawmill. In the mid 1930’s they moved back to Adelaide. Edward got a job in the mooring gang of the SA Harbours Board. In his early sixties Edward suffered from near-fatal work injury where a 75mm rope which was connected to a ship snapped and struck him across the back of the head, forcing him to retire (Jeffery, 2022).
Edward had issues with his ears, especially with his hearing throughout the rest of his life because of the damage done to his ears in the war. In old age he became extremely deaf. Edward also developed Parkinson’s Disease in his 70’s (Jeffery, 2022). Edward Jeffery died on the 23rd of February 1972 at age 78. He was cremated but commemorated with a plaque in Cheltenham Cemetery (Virtual War Memorial, 2022). He is remembered as a man with a kind and serving heart (Jeffery, 2022).

Anzac Spirit
Edward demonstrated many qualities associated with the ANZAC spirit. He showed immense bravery when deciding to enlist. He put the greater good ahead of his own interest because he knew as a young man he could be of great help. He demonstrated mateship when enlisting alongside his friend John Stone. They not only left together but returned together and through shared experience their friendship would have developed and brought them closer together. When writing to his mother Edward remained relatively light-hearted considering the atrocities he experienced within his first 3 months after embarkation. He joked about the Turks being ‘mighty poor shots’ in his letter to home. His ability to joke around and remain positive despite his circumstances is an extremely admirable quality. This ability to remain positive would have also benefitted his mother who would have been very worried for his safety and general well-being. He proved to be tough and able to endure substantial pain when he crawled to the beach for medical assistance for over two hours. This demonstrates amazing determination and resilience. Even after receiving the two bullets to his left leg, he didn’t give up and went on to fight until the 18th of May 1918. I believe that in many ways Edward demonstrated what it meant to be an ANZAC.