| Places | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | REL24613 |
| Collection type | Heraldry |
| Object type | Heraldry |
| Physical description | Bronze |
| Place made | United Kingdom, United Kingdom: England, Greater London, London |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
Next of kin plaque : Private Frederick Leslie Jeffery, 1st ANZAC Battalion, Imperial Camel Corps
Description
Bronze next of kin plaque, showing on the obverse, Britannia holding a laurel wreath, the British lion, dolphins, a spray of oak leaves and the words 'HE DIED FOR FREEDOM AND HONOUR' around the edge. Beneath the main figures, the British lion defeats the German eagle. The initials 'ECP', for the designer Edward Carter Preston appear above the lion's right forepaw. A raised rectangle above the lion's head bears the name 'FREDERICK LESLIE JEFFERY'.
History / Summary
Born in Nevertire, New South Wales, in 1890, Frederick Leslie (Fred) Jeffery, was employed as a stockman and butcher at Cudgeon, when he travelled to Sydney to enlist in the AIF, on 21 August 1915. After basic training he was posted as a private, service number 1630, to the 12th Reinforcements to the 1st Light Horse Regiment. He left Sydney for Egypt, aboard the troopship HMAT A27 Beltana, on 9 November.
In 1916 Jeffery was one of the men detached light horse reinforcements to join the Western Frontier Force, patrolling the Suez Canal area. He briefly joined 1st Light Horse Regiment in November before transferring to the 1st ANZAC Battalion of the Imperial Camel Corps.
Jeffery was one of 14 men from his unit captured by the Turks on 19 April 1917, during the second battle of Gaza, in the attack on the Tank Redoubt. The men were taken to a work camp at Bor in Central Anatolia. Conditions were harsh and in November Jeffery was taken to hospital at nearby Negdi, the capital of the province, suffering from rheumatic fever and dysentery. He died there on 23 November and was buried in the Kayabacho Cemetery. Three of his fellow prisoners who had died there at about the same time were buried in the same cemetery. After there war their bodies were exhumed and reinterred in the Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery in Iraq.
This commemorative plaque was sent to Jeffery's widowed mother, Alice, in February 1922. Another of her sons, Percival, served with 31st Battalion and survived the war.