George Jackson WW2

George Jackson. 3712009 Pte. 2nd KORR, KIA 23rd June 1941, Merjayoun, Syria age 29yrs

Pte. Jackson lived with his grandmother when on leave, in Bank Court, off Cartmel Square, but was not well known in the village. He was a regular soldier.

Mr Bernard Boundy, who went to school with him, at Holker, remembers him as somewhat rebellious, "He would do 'owt. He got told off one day and started throwing inkwells at the teacher!"

In 1941 the Allies were attempting to advance, against Vichy forces, down the Mediterranean coast to Beirut. 7th Australian Division had only 25th and 26th Bde along 37 miles of front. Brigadier F.H. Berryman was in charge of troops west of the Litani river to protect the flank. 2nd. King's Own were called to his assistance. They reached the battle area in time for the planned attack on Merjayoun, near Damascus, which had to be captured to allow the advance to continue.

2/KO arrived at about 4pm on the 22nd June. Colonel Barraclough issued orders for the next day's attack without reconnaissance and from the map only.

Previous Australian failures were blamed on French armour, therefore the attack was to be across boulder covered ground. No opposition was initially expected, so no preparatory barrage was arranged. The troops were to form up on a hill called the "Pimple" to attack Khiam. Gunners were to lay down a concentration on Khiam at 11.00am.

The attack proceeded but mortars and, later, artillery opened fire and casualties mounted. Various attempts were made to outflank the French but no Australian artillery concentration materialised, to distract the enemy. Casualties in all three attacking companies were heavy. The attack could not hope to succeed, and in one exposed position 4 men were killed as they operated a Bren gun. L/Cpl A. Padgett crawled to it and kept firing from 8.30am to 3.30pm. despite most of the section becoming casualties.

Private Jackson was killed in this action and is buried at Damascus Commonwealth War Cemetery, Syria, Row O, Grave 22.

The next day, 24th, Merjayoun was occupied after more hard fighting and heavy casualties.

The "Barrow News" of 19th July 1941 carried a report of his grandmother's funeral, "The funeral took place on Monday at the Priory Church of Mrs Betsy Thompson, widow of Mr John Thompson of Bank Court, Cartmel, whom she survived one year. Mourners were members of her family, most of them children of a previous marriage........Mrs Thompson, who was 80 years of age was formerly Betsy Drinkwater and was born at Cradley Heath, but 50 years of her life were spent in Barrow. On the day of her death news was received that her grandson, George Jackson, who was serving with the B.E.F. in the east was missing, but she was spared the knowledge of this." The report (including the photograph reproduced here) confirming his death appeared the following week

He was born in 1912, on 20th May at 1, Rampside Rd., Barrow-in-Furness. Mother Fanny Jackson, domestic servant, 6, Napier Street, Barrow. There is no mother's signature on the birth certificate, only "X the mark of". Two George Jacksons served in 2/KO and were killed in 1941. I have received much assistance from Julie Howarth, the daughter of a 2/KO veteran who cast some doubt on this being the correct Private Jackson. We were 99 percent certain that the man on the memorial was this one. This was confirmed by an email on 29th January 2001 from Mr David Geraghty, whose mother was a grand-daughter of Betsy Drinkwater, which provided the following information:-

"Betsy Drinkwater, Pte Jackson's grandmother, moved from Barrow with her daughters, Nellie, Fanny, and Charlotte, to work as domestic servants at Holker Hall for Lord Cavendish. They worked as nursing assistants, during and after the First World War, at a large house overlooking the bay at Grange-over-Sands which had been converted to a hospital/convalescent home. The house is still there. Charlotte met her husband there, a Frederick Robson (my grandfather) of the Durham Light Infantry, who was recovering after being gassed in France - he died from the effects of the gas in 1939."