Medals to the Jackson Family

The exceptional and nationally important Second War ‘London Blitz’ Gallantry C.B.E. group of ten awarded to Major F. W. ‘Gentleman’ Jackson, a decorated veteran of the Great War who had command of the London Fire Brigade throughout the period of the London Blitz and upon whose shoulders Churchill laid the responsibility of protecting St Paul’s Cathedral from destruction on the night of 29 December 1940 during what was described as ‘the second Great Fire of London’ and ‘the most spectacular air raid of the war’

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, C.B.E. (Civil) Commander’s 2nd type, neck badge, complete with neck cravat in its Garrard, London case of issue; Distinguished Service Order, G.V.R., silver-gilt and enamels, with integral top riband bar; 1914 Star, with clasp (2.Lieut. F. W. Jackson. A.S.C.); British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaves (Major F. W. Jackson.); France and Germany Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Jubilee 1935, unnamed as issued; Coronation 1937, unnamed as issued, minor enamel chips to wreaths of the D.S.O., otherwise generally good very fine (10) £20,000-£30,000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Medals to the Jackson Family.

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By direct descent to the present vendor.

C.B.E. London Gazette 14 February 1941.

The original gallantry citation published in the London Gazette states:

‘Major Frank Whitford Jackson, D.S.O., Deputy Chief Officer, Commanding the London Fire Brigade.
Since the outbreak of war the Command of the London Fire Brigade has rested with Major Jackson, and to him has been entrusted the responsibility of coping with the many and difficult situations created in the London area by the enemy’s attacks. The London Fire Service has successfully dealt with outbreaks of fire on a scale and in such numbers as have never previously been experienced. Particularly noteworthy was the manner in which, in spite of severe handicaps, the public Fire Services operated on the occasion of the enemy's incendiary attacks on the City of London on the night of the 29th December, 1940.

It is to Major Jackson’s able and inspiring leadership that the success of the London Fire Service is in large measure due. His leadership of the Service throughout has been distinguished. He has shown marked personal gallantry on a number of occasions, and in the fullest sense has shared the dangers of his officers and men.’

D.S.O. London Gazette 1 January 1918: ‘Temporary Major Frank Whitford Jackson, A.S.C.’

M.I.D. London Gazette 1 January 1916, 4 January 1917, and 24 December 1917.

The London Blitz

Eighty-five years on, The Blitz remains the single most devastating and sustained attack on mainland Britain in recorded history.

Estimates vary but some say it claimed the lives of 43,500 civilians – around half the total who died in the entire war – and made one in every six Londoners homeless. The bombing and firestorms that resulted led to the damage or destruction of 1.1 million homes – 2 million when other cities were taken into account. Vital infrastructure, including docks and railways, were also destroyed.

Other cities, including Liverpool, Bristol, Glasgow, Belfast, Swansea and Hull also suffered as the German bombers targeted the shipyards.

The nightly bombing began on 7 September 1940, and continued unbroken for 57 days. The Blitz lasted until May 1941, the final night of devastation raining down on London on 10 May . From then on, Hitler turned his attention to his plans to invade the Soviet Union.

Aided by the Auxiliary Fire Service, the London Fire Brigade was at the heart of the firestorms that raged across the capital over those eight months. They had to deal with countless incendiary devices that had not exploded on impact, while also fighting out-of-control fires in soaring temperatures, often with limited or unreliable access to water to douse the flames. The London Fire Brigade estimates that in the first 22 days of The Blitz alone, its men had to tackle 10,000 fires.

Buildings would collapse around them as the bombing continued, and factories and warehouses hit by bombs could add to the peril and conflagration as their inflammable contents caught alight. Meanwhile returning to base gave no let-up as the bombers targeted fire stations too, and communication lines broke down hampering efforts further. By the end of The Blitz, 327 London fire fighters had lost their lives – the national total was 997. The largest single loss had come in April 1941, when 34 died tackling the devastation at the Old Palace School sub-station in Poplar. It is still the largest loss of life from a single incident for the service in history.

Co-ordinating the battle against the firestorms and devastation in the capital was the Deputy Chief of the London Fire Brigade, Frank Whitford Jackson, who had risen through the ranks to take up the role on the eve of the Second World War in 1939.

Key to the effectiveness of the Brigade under Jackson was his constructive working relationship with John Horner, General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU). Together they incorporated the auxiliaries of the Auxiliary Fire Service into the London Fire Brigade to create a uniform, streamlined service. In his 2010 book Firefighters and The Blitz, Francis Beckett recorded the views of Horner: “Jackson believed the Fire Service could not have got through the war without the unions help and incorporation. When (Herbert) Morrison retired (him) from active service he received no honours, no knighthood, but ‘Gentleman Jackson’ deserves honourable mention in this history.”
Once war broke out, Jackson often put himself in the path of danger during raids. “He would often be seen out in the middle of a raid, visiting his men and women as they battled the fiery elements that threatened their city,” his biographer revealed. “He was idolised by his men and respected by his peers.”
The Gentleman Jackson soubriquet came from the communist-dominated Fire Brigades Union, and with good reason, as Richard Collier explained in his 1959 book The City That Would Not Die: “They loved everything about him – his urbanity, the gentle smile even when things were worst, the same unhurried, courteous approach to all comers. ‘To some senior officers,’ one fireman recalls, ‘ordinary fireman were cattle. Major Jackson would walk a hundred yards out of his way to say good morning to a fireman swabbing down the floor. He would remember his name and details of his family.’”
Jackson faced numerous perils, having been ordered directly by Winston Churchill, during the night raid of 29 December, to protect St Paul’s Cathedral at all costs. To have lost such an icon as St Paul’s to enemy action would have had a devastating effect on the public morale of the entire country.

A large bomber force arrived over London just after 6 p.m. and saturated the City area and the East End with incendiaries and High Explosive bombs; serious fires occurred in the vicinity of St Paul's Cathedral, the great warehouses in the Minories, London Guild Hall and Moorgate - St. Paul's, although ringed by fire and destruction, escaped virtually undamaged; the most spectacular air-raid of the war, referred to as the "Second Great Fire of London" killed 160 civilians and injured 500; London's Fire Service lost 16 men and over 350 were seriously injured.
On the last night of The Blitz, five months later, he faced the dilemma of how to protect the rest of the City too. At one point he had planned to create a fire break that would have entailed setting off explosives threatening the foundations of the Cathedral. The reason Jackson considered taking such drastic action was because the fires were endangering the nearby Faraday Building which at the time was the nerve centre for Britain’s wartime overseas communications. This facility had to be saved at all costs, even if it meant putting St Paul’s at risk.
As Beckett writes, “Each lorry slowly worked its way down through the burning narrow streets to deliver 1,000 gallons each into a 5,000 gallon steel dam. Until the Thames rose again, it would be the only way of saving the world’s biggest telegraph exchange, Faraday House. The north east block of Faraday House, known as the Citadel, was also Winston Churchill’s emergency bunker, and was of vital importance to the future planning of the war. Two cabinet ministers were in residence in the bunker that night – John Anderson, after whom the shelters had been named, and Ernest Bevin, Minister for Labour. It was essential to save the exchange if Britain was to remain in contact with the rest of the world. The FFS was less worried about the two ministers.
“Major Jackson looked on as his men fought the flames. If the relay failed to work, he had received orders to dynamite the street, causing a natural fire break. It was to be an action of last resort, as no one could be sure that the explosion would not damage the foundations of St Paul’s, just 100 yards north, but it would save Faraday House.
“The battle for Faraday House would remain in the balance until 9:30 a.m., when additional fire-fighters, whose leave had been cancelled hours earlier, augmented by fire-fighters from outside London, began to win control. Faraday House and St Paul’s would not be declared safe until 6 p.m.”
The deadly nature of that attack finally persuaded the Government to unify Britain’s fire service. On 13 May, the Home Secretary introduced the Fire Services (Emergency Provisions) Bill to see the plan through and on 22 May it received Royal Assent and passed into law, with the National Fire Service coming into formation on 18 August. Jackson became Chief Fire Commander of 33 Fire Force covering London. He was the only individual ever to hold the title, as his successor in 1943 took the title Chief Regional Fire Officer, which was used for all other Fire Forces around the country.

As The Blitz neared its end in April 1941, it was announced that Jackson has been appointed a C.B.E. The measure of Jackson’s popularity among the officers of the London Fire Brigade was not simply found in the verbal and written tributes paid to him (he was later described as “the most popular Chief Officer the London Fire Brigade ever served under”).

In 1943 Jackson took up a new position with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in connection with fire prevention and allied subjects and it was at this time that he was presented with a magnificent solid silver salver for his gallant leadership during the ‘Battle of London’.

As well as the blow of all the officers and men lost under his command during The Blitz, Jackson suffered a more personal tragedy when, on 12 June 1943, his son, Frank Jnr, died when the Wellington bomber he was piloting crashed at R.A.F. Bircham Newton, Norfolk, on its return from a mission over the Ruhr.

Despite his leaving frontline service in London in 1943, it was by no means the end of Jackson’s war. Having briefly appeared in a propaganda film as himself in 1943, the following year found him in France and apparently attached to the RAF in an undisclosed role. His later award of the France and Germany Star proves that he was on active service at the time. In 1946, Jackson became Technical Services Advisor to the Fire Prevention Association, and was also a member of various fire committees, including Codes of Practice and Fire Grading. He was also chairman of the London Private Fire Brigades Association and Vice-President of the Fire Service National Benevolent Fund, the charity that he himself had set up in 1940, from an initial donation of £24, which was nationalised in 1943 and is known today as the Fire Fighters Charity.

Frank Whitford Jackson was born on 23 June 1886, at Strood, Kent, to Arthur Jackson, a naval engineer at Chatham Dockyard, and Celia, neé Mason. The family moved around the country as demanded by Arthur’s work, but settled in Greenwich, with Arthur working at the Royal Woolwich Dockyard and Frank being educated at The John Roan School, Westcombe Park, near Greenwich, followed by King’s College, London. After qualifying for the Civil Service, records show that he worked as a clerk in the Education Department of the London County Council. He was a founder member of the Westcombe Park Rugby Club, and captained the team for several seasons, later becoming club President, a post he held until his death. He was also a keen fly fisherman and took an active interest in athletics.
Jackson volunteered for military service on the outbreak of war in 1914, and joined the Army Service Corps at the same time as his younger brother Walter Frederick Jackson, and was commissioned into the Army Service Corps, rising to the rank of Major. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in January 1918 and was Mentioned in Dispatches three times. In 1916 he married Lillian Elizabeth Philomena Cummins, a teacher from Newbridge, Co. Kildare, and they had three children. She died in 1931. Retiring in 1951, Jackson died aged 68 on 16 June 1955, and was interred in ‘Fireman’s Corner’ in Highgate Cemetery, the last fireman to be laid to rest there.

Sold with the following presentation items and other artefacts:

i. A magnificent, impressive and large rectangular solid silver serving tray with two carrying handles to the sides and ornate scroll border, hallmarked London 1897, maker’s mark for William and George Sissons, retailer’s stamp of Searle & Co, Lombard Street, approximately 5.5kg, 805mm x 485mm, with engraved presentation inscription: ‘To F. W. Jackson, C.B.E., D.S.O. Chief Fire Commander, London Area. Their old Comrade and their Leader in the Battle of London. From the Officers and Men of the London Fire Brigade. “The deeds of the leader shall live And the hard-worn glory of his exploits” Ovid’, together with the engraved badges of the London Fire Brigade, the London Fire Service, and the National Fire Service.

ii. A silver cigarette box with wood lining, hallmarked London 1935, 130mm x 89mm x 50mm, the front panel with presentation inscription: ‘F. W. Jackson, C.B.E., D.S.O. Presented as a Token of Esteem by Certain Officers and Men from Fire Brigades Incorporated in the N.F.S. No. 35 Area. January 1943.’

iii. Portrait of Major F. W. Jackson in full dress uniform of the London Fire Brigade wearing medals, oils on canvas by T. Edwards, 1936, image approximately 255mm x 180mm, in gilt frame, 350mm x 280mm overall.

iv. A silver hip flask by Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Company, Regent Street, hallmarked London 1915, with engraved monogram ‘FWJ’

v. Archive material, including photographs of Jackson in uniform with King George VI during a Royal inspection of the London Fire Brigade headquarters, and original photos taken from the early Blitz bombing of Thames Haven on the 7th September 1940; numerous newspaper cuttings about Jackson in his role in charge of the London Fire Brigade, and their work; record of service record from the London Fire Brigade and a copy of a letter from Gowers appointing him as Chief Fire Commander in 1942; copies of his birth, marriage and death certificates, and other certificates for members of his family, including copies of his pilot son, Frank’s death certificate.