Pte 51591 Arthur Reginald Jeffreys

Arthur Reginald (Reg) Jeffreys was born in London on 21st March 1893, the only son of Arthur Sidney Jeffreys and his wife Lydia Brooke (née Walker).  His father was born in Notting Hill, and his mother in King’s Cross.  They married in Marylebone in 1890, both age 20, and had three children:  Arthur had an elder sister Florence Lucy, born in 1891, and a younger sister Esme Ruth, born in 1900.

 

Reg was baptised on 23rd January 1895 in St. John the Evangelist, Everton, his parents’ residence given as 8 Taunton Place, Park Road, Regents Park, London, and his father’s occupation cashier. It is not known when or why his parents came to Liverpool.  They had returned to London by 1900, when Esmé was born. Esmé was baptised in Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, where Lydia’s remarried mother was living.  Lydia apparently left her husband because of his adulterous behaviour but returned, signing an agreement that if any misconduct occurred in future Arthur would give up access to the children. 

 

In 1901 his parents are living at 4 Hardwick Place, St. Pancras, with baby Esmé, 7 months. His father is a clerk. Four couples/families live at this address, one of which is William Hart, 32, wine butler, and his wife Maud. Florence appears to be a patient in the fever hospital, Northern Hospital Asylum, Winchmore Hill. Arthur has not been found on the census.

 

His mother filed for divorce in 1902, on the grounds of adultery coupled with cruelty. John Penny Mackie was appointed guardian ad litem of the three children. His mother had her own private income whereas his father’s only source of income was his work as a cashier at a West End club, later at a club/hotel in Colchester.  His father had three children with another woman, the linen maid at the club where he worked, and moved the woman into the family home, after which Lydia left the home and the other woman moved in, living as husband and wife from 24th December 1901. He also committed adultery with a barmaid. He was often drunk and violent, striking Lydia to compel her to give up her allowance.

 

His father married Elizabeth Brady, the linen maid, in 1904. In 1911 they were living in South Hammersmith, with three children.

 

In 1911 Reg is living in Liverpool with his aunt Clara, his mother’s younger sister, now married to Walter Sutton, at 81 Belmont Drive.  They have three young children, a governess, and a domestic servant.  Walter 35, is the manager of a timber company, Arthur is 18, employed as a timber clerk. 

 

His mother and sisters are living at the Ram Inn, 68 High Street, Dorking. The licensed victualler is William Hart, 42;  his mother, 40, listed as a widow, is manageress, Florence is 20, Esmé is 11.

Reg enlisted as Rifleman 4437, joining the 6th Battalion of The King's Liverpool Regiment (Liverpool Rifles). He embarked aboard the S.S. Princess Victoria from Folkestone-Boulogne on 15th July 1916, reaching the 24th Infantry Base Depot on 16th July, he then proceeded to the 11th Entrenching Battalion on 02nd August then proceeded to the 17th Battalion K.L.R. on 05th August and was posted from 05th September 1916 to the 17th Battalion K.L.R. as Private No 51591.

He was killed in action on the 12th October 1916 during the Battle of the Transloy Ridges which was part of the ongoing Somme Offensive. He was 23 years of age. 

17^th Bn War Diary:  Battle of Transloy Ridge –                                               

11-10-16 - Gird Trench/Gird Support – Battalion in front line and support trenches. British bombardment of enemy front line system commenced about midday.  Hostile shelling was intermittent throughout the day.

12-10-16  - Our bombardment continued. Enemy reply weak.  2.5 p.m. Zero hour. Attack on German front line system commenced.  Enemy wire was found to be uncut and attack was unsuccessful.  Hostile machine gun fire was very heavy and caused many casualties. Battalion H.Q. and Support Trench were heavily shelled throughout afternoon and evening. […] During this action all communication had to be carried out by runners and carrier pigeons as all wires were being continually cut by enemy shelling.

Casualties: 5 officers killed,  5 officers wounded, 38 OR killed, about 225 OR wounded/missing etc.

Graham Maddocks, in “Liverpool Pals” p.140, adds: “As the whistle blew, the 17^th Battalion left its trenches to move forward.  […]  As soon as the attacking waves left their trenches the enemy artillery began to register on them, and at the same time, the defending infantry commenced a murderous rain of fire.  […]  Although their numbers had been depleted by the British bombardment, they were trained and experienced soldiers, well dug in on high ground, and for the most part, looking out on uncut wire.  As such, it was virtually impossible for them to miss the City Battalion men struggling to advance in the mud towards them.   The 17^th Battalion, on the left, was particularly badly hit, as its portion of No Man’s Land contained a slight rise in the ground, and as the troops emerged onto it they were silhouetted against the sky and became easy targets.  Those on the left of the attack, who managed to avoid the hail of bullets and make it to the German wire, then found that it was totally uncut, and thus trapped, they too became easy targets, to be picked off almost at the enemy’s will.  It was hardly surprising that, seeing the first waves being wiped out, some of the following waves turned back and made for their start lines. These lines were now packed with other waves of troops, however, and the fleeing men added to the congestion already there, and became easy prey for the German gunners.  There is some evidence also, to suggest that at this stage, the British trenches were also being hit by their own heavy artillery shells which were falling short.” 

Reg's body was not recovered or was subsequently lost as he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Misisng of the Somme, France. 

The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916. 

On 01st August 1932 the Prince of Wales and the President of France inaugurated the Thiepval Memorial in Picardy. The inscription reads: “Here are recorded the names of officers and men of the British Armies who fell on the Somme battlefields between July 1915 and March 1918 but to whom the fortune of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death.”

He was remembered in the Liverpool Echo on 21st March 1917:  

“In sad but loving birthday (March 21) remembrance of Arthur Reginald Jeffreys (Reg.), K.L.R., killed in action October 12, 1916. - Fondly remembered by Ray.”

 

His mother Lydia received his effects, including a War Gratuity of £3.  She is recorded as Lydia Hart, but did not marry William Hart until 1946 (possibly when his wife Maud died). A pension card cannot be found.

 

His father with his second family emigrated to Canada in 1918, and died  there in 1948.

 

In 1939 his mother, as Lydia Hart, is living at 26 Cornwall Road, Deal, Kent, with William Hart, a licensed victualler, and daughter Esmé.  Esme never married, and died in 1981. Lydia died in 1960, aged 89.

 

Reg is commemorated on the Memorial Chapel, Wembley, Greater London.

 

We currently have no further information on Arthur Reginald Jeffreys. If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.

Grateful thanks are extended to Kevin Shannon the author of the book The Liverpool Rifles for providing details of Reg's service with the 6th Rifles.