Frank William Jeffery

A Private with the 2nd Battalion, Frank died on 13th of November 1916 at the age of 28. 

Frank was born at Lowestoft in 1888, a son of Frederick Ernest and Alice Elizabeth Jeffery. In 1891 his family lived at 78 Saint Leonard’s Road, and this would be Frank’s home for the rest of his life. He was baptised at Saint Peter’s Church, Kirkley on 2 December 1891. Frank’s father died in 1894. In 1906 Frank’s mother married William Hargrave. In 1911 Frank worked as a barman at a licensed hotel.  

Frank is mentioned in an account of the South Lowestoft Evening School winter course prize distribution at Morton Road School, published in the East Anglian Daily Times, 5 May 1904, page 6, which states that Frank was one of the third years students who ‘received prizes or tool boxes and were also recommended for evening scholarships at the Technical School.’

Frank enlisted in the Army at Lowestoft. He joined the Suffolk Regiment, service number 2157, and served with the 6th (Cyclist) Battalion. He did not serve overseas before 1916. He was posted to the 1/4th Battalion, and is believed to have arrived in France on26 July 1916, and soon afterwards he was posted to the 2nd Battalion, with service number 43754. 

Colonel Murphy’s ‘The History of the Suffolk Regiment 1914-1927’ has the following account of the 2nd Battalion’s attack at Serre on 13 November 1916:

At 5 a.m. the first wave floundered forward into No Man’s Land – in reality, a sea of mud in which movement was barely possible. Three quarters of an hour later the attack began. The mist which hung about the low ground thickened as the smoke of the barrage increased, making direction extremely difficult to maintain. Within a very short time all the officers in the leading companies had fallen, and owing to lack of leaders no real progress was made. In spite of the atrocious weather conditions prevailing, portions of the leading Suffolk companies actually reached the German second line. But all was in vain, and the battalion having been reorganised in its original front line, remained there for the rest of the day, marching back to Courcelles the next morning. Their casualties numbered 272, including eleven officers.  

Frank was killed in action during the attack.