Albert Jacka
An Australian infantryman whose raw, defiant courage at Gallipoli and on the Western Front made him a national symbol of ANZAC spirit.
1893–1932 (age 39)·Australian Victoria Cross recipient and Mayor of St. Kilda·Birthday: January 10·The Lost Generation
Biography
Albert Jacka’s name is etched in the foundational myth of Australian military identity. A Victorian country boy working as a labourer, he enlisted within weeks of the First World War’s outbreak. At Gallipoli in 1915, his actions during a Turkish attack were the stuff of instant legend: alone in a trench, he killed several attackers and recaptured a position, earning Australia’s first Victoria Cross of the war. This was not a fluke. Transferred to the Western Front, his almost supernatural bravery continued. He won a Military Cross for a stunning solo raid on German dugouts at Pozières, and a Bar to that Cross for holding a position under ferocious fire at Bullecourt. To his men, he was simply ‘the bravest of the brave.’ Wounded multiple times, he returned to Australia a hero, but the war had taken its toll. He entered business and local politics, becoming Mayor of St Kilda, but died relatively young from health complications linked to his wounds. In death, he remains the ultimate archetype of the Australian digger: tough, resourceful, and unbreakable.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Albert was born in 1893, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Albert Was Born
The biggest hits of 1893
Albert's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1893Born
World's Columbian Exposition dazzles Chicago
President: Grover Cleveland
1898Started school
Spanish-American War; US emerges as a world power
President: William McKinley
1906Became a teenager
San Francisco earthquake devastates the city
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1909Could drive
Robert Peary claims to reach the North Pole
President: William Howard Taft
1911Could vote
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 in New York
President: William Howard Taft
1914Turned 21
World War I begins
President: Woodrow Wilson
1923Turned 30
The Great Kanto earthquake devastates Tokyo
President: Calvin Coolidge"Yes! We Have No Bananas" — Billy Jones
1932Died at 39
Amelia Earhart flies solo across the Atlantic
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Night and Day" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Grand Hotel
Key Achievements
- Awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions during the Gallipoli Campaign in May 1915, the first Australian to receive the VC in WWI.
- Also received the Military Cross and a Bar to the Military Cross for separate acts of extreme bravery on the Western Front.
- Served as Mayor of the St Kilda municipality in Victoria from 1930 until his death in 1932.
Did You Know?
His Victoria Cross action was famously reported with the headline "Jacka's Mob" in Australian newspapers.
After the war, he co-founded the electrical goods importing company Jacka & Co.
His state funeral in 1932 was one of the largest seen in Melbourne, with an estimated 100,000 mourners lining the streets.
He is featured on an Australian postage stamp issued in 1995.
“Fritz, I've stopped a few. Come on, boys!”
