Competition

Third Prize

Tribute to Captain Clarence Smith Jeffries, VC
by Caelli Greenbank
Creswick, Vic

"On Fame's eternal camping ground
Their silent tents are spread."
As I stand here before your grave
These words run through my head.

You lie here in this Belgian soil,
For 90 years, alone.
While family you left behind
Grows up, to you unknown.

In Passchendaele, here, so far from home
You fought so hard and brave.
And when it came to the crucial time
Your life you freely gave.

You fought so gallantly, in Messines,
Til a wound forced you out of the line.
And when you recovered, a Captain replaced
The Lieutenant who'd been shot on June 9.

Passchendaele, 1917,
Was the place where your VC was won.
The Company Commander from Battalion 34
Had one last job left undone.

When the enemy fired upon your men
You reacted lightning fast,
And took a party of your comrades
To silence those guns at last.

You rushed the gun emplacement
Leading your mates into the fray;
Captured four guns and 35 prisoners,
And then went upon your way.

And when you'd followed your orders
And brought all your men back,
You targeted the other guns
And planned another attack.

The enemy did not stand a chance
Against ANZACs, holding true.
And while your men returned victorious
They did so without you.

Another two guns had been won to our side,
Another 30 prisoners as well,
But the men had lost their commander and friend
And they buried you where you fell.

Do you wait for your family, lying here?
Do they mourn in your home, Abermain?
Do they remember your gallantry, valour and courage?
Do they ensure that it wasn't in vain?

On Fame's eternal camping ground
Your silent tent is spread.
We thank you for your sacrifice -
You will ever be remembered.

(Captain Jefferies is buried at Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium. This poem was inspired by his epitaph.)