Captain Albert Jacka VC MC

[anthony]

There was some musing after the First World War that if any Australian could have been awarded a bar to the Victoria Cross it would have been Captain Albert Jacka. This musing morphed over the years into Jacka was robbed of his just deserts despite the inconvenient truth that not one person in the British Empire was awarded two VCs in the First World War and survived.

Jacka had a number of firsts in the First World War including:
- First Australian awarded the VC
- First Australian VC other rank commissioned
- First Australian VC subsequently awarded another gallantry award and
- the only Australian forces VC recipient subsequently awarded two gallantry awards

I have a 1932 obituary which suggests that been Jacka would have been a worthy recipient of a second Victoria Cross. Does anyone have an earlier reference that mentions the issue.

[roberthenry]

Did Albert Jacka himself not relate to Charles Bean the Australian war correspondent that his actions for which he recieved the MC at Pozieres were six times harder than the actions which won him the VC at Courtneys post. And did Bean not suggest at the end of the war that it was disgraceful that Albert Jacka had not been awarded a second VC.

Gordon Corrigan in his book, Mud Blood and Poppycock on myths of WW1 said that Albert Jacka never recieved a VC for Pozieres because he was never nominated for it by his fellow officers, he was nominated for a lesser award because he had either failed to post sentries or else they had fallen asleep and his position had been overrun by germans before anyone reacted.

This may or may not be true I really don't know but it seems that Albert Jacka was a really exceptional soldier who possibly didn't get all of the recognition he deserved.

[anthony]

Robert

Thanks for reminding me that Albert Jacka commented to Charles Bean the Australian official war correspondent that his actions at Pozieres were harder than the actions which won him the VC at Courtney’s post. I will check what Bean recorded.

The 1932 obituary I referred to was by Charles Bean. If any Australian VC could have been awarded a bar to the VC then Jacka’s actions at Pozieres would have been more than worthy. I think the early comments by Bean and others that Jacka could have morphed into should have and then became Jacka was robbed of a second VC.

Thank you for the Gordon Corrigan reference. I have Mud Blood and Poppycock and will have another read and see what references he used.

During and after the war, Jacka was recognised as the greatest Australian hero of the First World War. It is only in recent times that the name of Jacka has been overshadowed by John Simpson.

Jacka was one of the three highest decorated Australians in the First World War. Murray VC DSO and bar and DCM and Maxwell VC MC and bar and DCM each had the VC and three gallantry awards. Other than the bar to the DSO to Murray and the bar to the MC to Maxwell the other decorations to Murray and Maxwell were awarded before their VCs. On the other hand Jacka was the only Australian VC recipient awarded two gallantry decorations after being awarded the VC.

Thank you for the informed comments which are most helpful.

Anthony

[anthony]

Robert

Just a follow up. I checked the Bean records and much to my surprise I could not find in either Bean’s diaries or papers an interview with Jacka. I will keep looking. However, I have found a 1929 article in the NSW returned service magazine Reveille that suggests he should have received a bar to the VC at Pozieres Heights. So the matter was being canvassed from at least 1929.

Anthony