Jerry, Arthur
Lieutenant Arthur Jerry MM – 28th Battalion AIF
Arthur Jerry was born in Barnsley Yorkshire England on the 26th December 1893 to Elizabeth and John Jerry. He was educated at Park Grove School in York and after leaving school he took up work as a clerk in the Solicitors Office of Messer’s Dent and Scrunton. Arthur soon left his position to try his hand at farming near York though in 1912 he left England and came out to Western Australia. He set up a base for himself in High Street Fremantle and went out to look for work as a farm hand. However the declaration of war would intervene and Arthur enlisted into the AIF.
On the 1st March 1915 Arthur went to the Perth Drill Hall and offered his services to the AIF. He was accepted as fit with the medical examiner finding him to be 5 feet 8 inches tall; weight of 169lbs; chest measurement of 38-40 inches; fair complexion; brown eyes and dark brown hair. His religious denomination was Church of England. After a short time in the training depot at Blackboy Hill Camp, Arthur was assigned to “B” Company of the 28th Battalion AIF with the regimental no.312. He trained with this Company in WA until the end of June 1915.
On the 29th June 1915 Arthur and his Battalion boarded the H.M.A.T. “Ascanius” in Fremantle Harbour and set sail for Egypt. The journey took a month and they arrived at Suez at the end of July 1915. The men were then disembarked and sent to train in the Egyptian desert where Arthur was promoted to Corporal. This training only went on for a month as on the 4th September 1915 the 28th Battalion boarded a transport ship in Alexandria and set sail for the Dardanelles. After their arrival at Anzac they were sent to the northern sector of the battlefield.
Arthur had not been at Gallipoli long, when on the 21st September 1915 he was sent to the 7th Field Ambulance for treatment on a septic leg, though he returned to the unit a day later. On the 21st October Arthur was promoted to Temporary Sergeant, a rank he held for the rest of the campaign. With Gallipoli being evacuated in December 1915, the 28th Battalion returned to Egypt, arriving at Alexandria on the 10th January 1916.
The next two and a half months were spent training in the Egyptian desert during which time they also helped to hold the Suez Canal defence line. On the 2nd February 1916 he was promoted to full Sergeant and he helped train the new members of the unit before they left for France. On the 16th March 1916 the 28th Battalion boarded a transport ship in Alexandria and headed for France, arriving at Marseilles on the 21st March 1916.
After their arrival the men were marched through Marseilles and put onto trains for the journey to the north of France. They arrived near Armentieres and took up their first positions on the Western Front near Fleurbaix and Bois Greiner. They spent April till June 1916 in this region. In May Arthur was recommended for the Military Medal for his good work as a scout on Gallipoli and the first few months in France. This awarded was granted later in 1916.
In July 1916 the 28th Battalion moved to the Somme battlefield and later in the month they relieved the 1st Division which had captured Pozieres village. However it appears that Arthur may have missed the 28th Battalion’s first action at Pozieres on July 29th as on August 2nd he had arrived in England where he joined an Officer’s Cadet Battalion. He spent the next few months on this Officer’s course and on the 23rd October 1916 he passed as qualified for a commission in the AIF and was appointed 2nd Lieutenant.
On the 10th November 1916 Arthur finished his time at the Officer’s Cadet Battalion and was granted a period of furlough after which he would report to the AIF Camp at Perham Downs. He remained at this camp for over two weeks and then on the 7th December 1916 he left England and proceeded across to France, eventually rejoining the 28th Battalion on the 13th December 1916. The 28th Battalion were then on the old Somme battlefield where they would spend the French winter of 1916/17.
In late February 1917 the Germans began a planned withdrawal to their defensive position known as the Hindenburg Line. Australian and British forces pressed this retirement all the way and there were many furious battles over the outpost villages in front of the Hindenburg Line. On March 26th 1917 the 26th and 28th Battalions were tasked with the capture of Lagnicourt. Despite furious German resistance the village was captured though the men had to endure a large German counter attack which threatened them from an unprotected flank. According to the 28th Battalion war diary, Lieutenant Jerry led a party of men against this assault which helped stop the Germans but only Lt Jerry and one other man from this party survived. Later in the day Lt Jerry was mortally wounded by shell fire. He was taken to a dressing station situated between Lagnicourt and Vaulx but died soon after admission. He was buried near the dressing station.
After the war Lt Jerry was moved to Queant Road British Cemetery at Buissy in France. He lies in plot VIII.B.12.
A friend of Arthur’s, 2nd Lt Norman Graham would write to Mr. and Mrs. Jerry;
“Please accept our deepest sympathy. By ‘our’ I mean every man who knew him, for he was loved and respected as few men are. On the morning of March 26th we were ordered to the front line. Arthur did fine service during the day and one particular brilliant piece of work from which he emerged unscathed, but in the evening a very heavy artillery bombardment was delivered by the enemy and during this four of our officers were killed by one shell, Arthur being very severely wounded. You as his parents will find satisfaction in this, that in everything undertaken he always showed the same resoluteness of purpose, attention to detail and with it all a cheerful disposition which strengthened the ties and made men respect him and we who knew him, loved him.’
2nd Lt Arthur Dunkley also wrote to Mr. and Mrs. Jerry that; “Well and truly did he give his life for his country and loved ones – a man no better ever lived, a soldier none better or braver ever wore our Kings uniform. He was wounded about 4pm on March 26th. Previous to that he had taken about 15 of our boys out to stop a party of about 20 of the enemy who were getting behind our men. He fought them to a finish and won, wiping out all the enemy, but he returned with only one of our boys whom he had taken out. It was a great fight and he won.”