Lieutenant Colonel R.G.B. Jeffreys D.S.O.
2nd Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers
Collected Letters 1916-1918
Edited By Conor & Liam Dodd

Lieutenant Colonel R.G.B. Jeffreys commanded the 2nd Battalion Royal
Dublin Fusiliers which served with the 4th Division and the 16th
(Irish) Division, his letters covers the period from his arrival in
France in June 1916 until the end of the War and includes Jeffreys
describing the First Day of the Somme, Robert Downie's Victoria Cross
action and the 16th Irish Division's actions at Tunnel Trench,
Messines and Passchandaele. The book is illustrated with photos and
original documents which were included with his letters. It also
contains additional notes on men, places and events mentioned by
Jeffreys in his letters and a list of all the men who died whilst the
battalion was under his command.The letters of Lieutenant Colonel
R.G.B. Jeffreys are a rare and important primary source. Few accounts
such as this were written by men of the regiment and even fewer have
survived. Although the letters must be looked at objectively and with
an understanding that they are from the point of view of an upper
class officer, they do give an excellent insight not only into the
major battles of the Great War, which tends to be the focus of most
publications, but also everyday life in the trenches and billets of
the Western Front. These letters written to his wife during his period
at the front between 1916 and 1918 have much information contained
within them, that will give a better understanding of not only the
Royal Dublin Fusiliers in the Great War but also of most other
regiments which were involved in the conflict. With the passing of
Great War veterans, it is important that accounts such as this are
preserved, as these are the only way in which the history of the war
can be told properly through the words of the men who were there
andexperienced the futility of war. It is for these reasons that this
diary is being published, not only for aiding historians and family
researchers of the Great War but also for those who simply wish to
gain a better understanding and insight into this important period.

Richard Griffith Bassett Jeffreys was born on the 10th of January 1876
at Dunmore County Galway. His father was an army officer and he went
to England for his education at Bedford School, after which he joined
the army and underwent his officers training. He was commissioned into
the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and was soon sent to South Africa where
during the Boer War he was mentioned in Lord Robert's dispatches
whilst attached to the Mounted Infantry. It was 1916 before Jeffreys
was first sent to France during the First World War, arriving in
Bolougne less than a month before the first day of the Somme
offensive, in which he was to personally play little part. However
later in the war Jeffreys and his battalion played major roles in
battles at Messines and Passachaendaele. which resulted in him being
mentioned in dispatches three times, (including once by Sir Douglas
Haig). He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in the new year
of 1918 and stayed with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers until their
disbandment along with all of the other southern Irish regiments in
1922. With the disbandment of the regiment he had served with for over
20 years, he was sent to the 2nd Battalion North Stafford Regiment
where he was appointed second in command. His time with this regiment
however was short lived, while on two months leave, on the 10th of
January 1923, Jeffreys and his wife Grace, whom he had married in
1909, were killed when the plane in which they were flying crashed
near Ajaccio, Corsica.