Studio portrait of 2332 Company Sergeant Major (CSM) Frederick George Jurd, 7th Reinforcements, ...

Studio portrait of 2332 Company Sergeant Major (CSM) Frederick George Jurd, 7th Reinforcements, 2nd Battalion. CSM Jurd enlisted on 27 May 1915 and embarked from Sydney aboard HMAT Orsova on 14 July 1915. He saw service at Gallipoli and was stationed there until the evacuation. In 1916, he was transferred to the 5th Pioneer Battalion and served there for the remainder of the war, rising to the rank of Warrant Officer. CSM Jurd was decorated three times in 1918, receiving the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM), the Military Medal (MM) and the Belgian Croix de Guerre. He returned to Australia in February 1919, and was discharged as medically unfit due to a gun shot wound to his right leg, suffered at Bellicourt. The recommendation for his DCM reads: "...during February and March, around Messines, his Company were digging communication trenches and on several occasions CSM Jurd displayed conspicuous gallantry under heavy fire, and by his coolness and leadership undoubtedly greatly influenced the men under his command..." and "...his prompt action undoubtedly saved casualties and material".