Norman Cyril Jackson VC (8 April 1919 – 26 March 1994) was a sergeant in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

(RAF) who earned the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

during a

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

bombing raid on

Schweinfurt Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban ag ...

, Germany in April 1944.

Early life

Born in Ealing,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, Jackson was adopted as a one-week-old baby by Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Gunter. The Gunters also adopted Geoffrey Oliver Hartley, who in 1951 was awarded the

George Medal The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in cir ...

as a Federation of Malaya police lieutenant for protecting his party, which included three children, from bandits.Newspaper reports, including Jackson's obituary in the ''Daily Telegraph'' say that Hartley won the George Cross, but the ''London Gazette'', which is the authoritative historical record for British awards, lists his award as the lesser

. Upon this occasion, Mrs. Gunter said, "We adopted two of the finest sons any parents could wish for." Jackson qualified as a fitter and

turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turni ...

. Although he was married and in a

reserved occupation A reserved occupation (also known as essential services) is an occupation considered important enough to a country that those serving in such occupations are exempt or forbidden from military service. In a total war, such as the Second World War, w ...

at the outbreak of the Second World War, he enlisted in the RAF.

Military career

He joined the

RAF Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) ...

in 1939 and originally served as a Classified Fitter IIE (engines). In January 1941, he was assigned to a

Sunderland flying boat The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of Sunderland in North East ...

squadron based in

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

. He applied for retraining as a flight engineer and returned to England in September 1942. On 28 July 1943, he joined No. 106 Squadron which operated Avro Lancaster

bombers A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an aircra ...

. Jackson completed his tour of 30 missions on 24 April 1944, but, as he had flown one sortie with a different crew, he chose to fly once more so that he and his original aircrew could finish their tour together. Jackson's 31st mission was a raid on the German

ball bearing A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the bearing races. The purpose of a ball bearing is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads. It achieves this ...

factories at

on the night of 26–27 April. Having bombed the target, Jackson's Lancaster (serial ME669) was attacked by a German

night fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...

and a fuel tank in the starboard wing caught fire. Jackson, already wounded from shell splinters, strapped on a parachute and equipped himself with a fire extinguisher before climbing out of the aircraft and onto the wing, whilst the aeroplane was flying at , in order to put out the fire. He gripped the air intake on the leading edge of the wing with one hand, and fought the fire with the other. The flames seared his hands, face, and clothes. The fighter returned and hit the bomber with a burst of gunfire that sent two bullets into his legs. The burst also swept him off the wing. He fell , but his smouldering and holed parachute worked well enough to save his life. He suffered further injuries upon landing, including a broken ankle, but managed to crawl to a nearby German village the next morning, where he was paraded through the street. He spent 10 months recovering in hospital before being transferred to the Stalag IX-C

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

. He made two escape attempts, the second of which was successful as he made contact with a unit of the

US Third Army The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf Wa ...

. Jackson's exploit became known when the surviving crewmen of his bomber were released from German captivity at the end of the war. He was promoted to

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

and his Victoria Cross (VC) award was gazetted on 26 October 1945. When he went to Buckingham Palace to receive his VC from King George VI, he was accompanied by

Leonard Cheshire Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire, (7 September 1917 – 31 July 1992) was a highly decorated Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot and group captain during the Second World War, and a philanthropist. Among the honours Cheshire received as ...

who was also due to receive his on that day. Group Captain Cheshire insisted that, despite the difference in rank, they should approach the King together. Jackson remembers that Cheshire said to the King, "This chap stuck his neck out more than I did – he should get his VC first! Of course the King had to keep to protocol but I will never forget what Cheshire said."

Victoria Cross citation

Extract from Fourth Supplement, ''

The London Gazette ''The London Gazette'' is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are ...

'' No 37324 of Friday 26 October 1945:

Postwar and personal life

After the war, he worked as a travelling salesman of Haig whisky. He and his wife Alma had seven children. Jackson died on 26 March 1994 at

Hampton Hill Hampton Hill (initially known as "New Hampton") is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames to the south of Twickenham, bounded by Fulwell and Twickenham Golf Courses to the northwest; the road bridge over the railway line; a ...

, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, and is buried in

Twickenham Cemetery Twickenham Cemetery is a cemetery at Hospital Bridge Road, Whitton in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It was established in 1868 and was expanded in the 1880s when the local parish churchyards were closed to new burials. Notable bu ...

Legacy

In April 2004, Jackson's VC medal was sold at auction to

Lord Ashcroft Michael Anthony Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft, (born 4 March 1946) is a British-Belizean businessman, pollster and politician. He is a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Ashcroft founded Michael A. Ashcroft Associates in 1972 and is ...

for £235,250 (

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) against a pre-auction estimate of £130,000. His family were upset because the medal went to a private bidder rather than the Royal Air Force Museum London, RAF museum at Hendon. They had planned to give their father's medals to the museum, but found they could not do so under the terms of their mother's will and the museum was outbid. His VC is now on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum, London. Norman Jackson's son appeared in the episode on his father's crew in Lord Ashcroft's documentary series ''Heroes of the Skies'' (broadcast on Channel 5 (British TV channel), Channel Five on 4 October 2012), as well as the Discovery Channel's ''Air Aces'' (premiering October 2013).

Notes

References

Sources

*British VCs of World War 2 (John Laffin, 1997) *Monuments To Courage (David Harvey, 1999) *The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997) *Bravest of the Brave (John Glanfield, 2005)

External links

Burial location of Norman Jackson
"Middlesex"

"Norman Jackson's Victoria Cross sold at auction"

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Norman Cyril British World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Air Force recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Air Force airmen People from Ealing Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II 1919 births 1994 deaths British World War II prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Escapees from German detention Military personnel from London English escapees