Jarvis, Ephraim

No.4759 – Private Ephraim Jarvis – 28^th Battalion AIF

Ephraim Jarvis was born in Horsham Victoria in 1896 to John and Ann Jarvis. While he was still young the family moved to Western Australia and took up residence in Silas Street East Fremantle. Ephraim, along with his elder brothers Dan and Rueben attended East Fremantle Primary School. After leaving school Ephraim took up work in the Iron industry and learnt to become a Stove Maker. Prior to the war the Jarvis family moved north of the River to Leederville. All three sons would go on and enlist in the AIF.

(Photo - Dan and Ephraim Jarvis)

Ephraim put his age up to enlist so he wouldn’t need his parent’s permission. Along with his brother Dan he enlisted at the Perth Drill Hall on the 27^th February 1916. Ephraim was medically examined and passed as fit for service. He was found to be 5 feet 6 inches tall; weight of 135 lbs; chest measurement of 34-37 inches; fresh complexion; brown eyes and dark hair. His religious denomination was Methodist. After initially being put in the training depot at Blackboy Hill Camp, on the 1^st April 1916 both Ephraim and Dan were assigned to the 12^th Reinforcements to the 28^th Battalion with respective service numbers.

They only had a few weeks of training with this group in WA as on the 17^th April 1916 they boarded the H.M.A.T. “Aeneas” in Fremantle Harbour and set sail for overseas. After the long sea voyage they arrived in England in June 1916 and were sent to the 7^th Training Battalion at Rollestone Camp on the Salisbury Plains. They began their training during which time they were also given leave to see the sights of England. Ephraim must have seen a lot as on the 28^th July 1916 he was admitted to the Rollestone Camp hospital suffering from venereal disease. On the 16^th August 1916 he was transferred to the Fovant Military Hospital and remained here for the next three and a half months while he recovered from his ailment.

Ephraim was released from hospital on the 7^th November 1916 and was returned to the 7^th Training Battalion at Rollestone. He remained in camp for another six weeks until he was finally put into a draft of men for France. On the 21^st December 1916 he reached Folkestone Harbour and boarded a troopship for France. On arrival at Etaples he was marched into the 2^nd Australian Division Base Depot where he remained for another three weeks. On the 18^th January 1917 Ephraim was taken on strength of the 28^th Battalion.

The 28^th Battalion were then in the vicinity of Flers, having been spending the French winter of 1916/17 in this sector. The cold muddy winter had turned into frosts and much of the ground during this period was covered by ice and snow. In late February 1917 the Germans began a withdrawal to their pre-prepared defensive position known as the Hindenburg Line. They weren’t allowed to withdraw in peace and they were harried all the way by Australian and British units. The 28^th Battalion were involved in the capture of some of the outpost villages such as Lagnicourt in March 1917.

By the 9^th April the Germans had finally withdrawn into their Hindenburg Line and the 4^th Division attacked the line at Bullecourt on April 11^th 1917. The attack failed with high casualties but after the assault was over, the 1^st and 2^nd Divisions held the line in the vicinity. On the 15^th April the Germans attacked the outpost line held by the 11^th Battalion in front of Lagnicourt. The Germans did gain a temporary break in the line but were pushed out by Australian counterattacks. The Germans did capture a few outposts of the 11^th Battalion after they had been surrounded and ran out of ammunition. Reuben Jarvis was taken prisoner in this action.

Five days later during the 28^th Battalion’s turn in the line Ephraim and another man were killed. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be any eyewitness accounts as to his death, nor was his body knowingly recovered. Ephraim is therefore commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial. Two weeks later Dan was severely wounded at Bullecourt, but both he and Reuben survived the war to come home in 1919.