Service of Reflection & Thanksgiving for the 100thAnniversary of Swinton’s VC Recipient L/Cpr Thomas Norman Jackson, Coldstream Guards.
10.30 Thursday 27thSeptember 2018, St Margaret’s, Swinton.
Organ plays as congregation enters
1sthymn -‘He who would Valiant be’
(During the hymn standards are presented to the clergy for placing at the side of the alter)
Welcome introduction to the service & opening prayer – Father Chris Barley.
1stReading
Swinton Queen Primary singing
Address by the Bishop of Sheffield
Lighting of candles & reading of the names of Swinton’s WW1 fallen – 10 readers including the child of a service family
Poetry readings – Swinton Academy students (or a reader)
2ndhymn – ‘I Vow to thee my Country’
Being 21 in Swinton – a young man & young woman share their hopes & aspirations
Prayers for the community, armed forces, national leaders to keep the peace & Lord’s Prayer
Thanks from the family
3rdhymn – ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’
(During the hymn standards are given back – standard bearers to form up in aisle)
Final blessing – Bishop
Standards lead out from church & form up on curved driveway organ plays out.
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Standards & congregation proceed to war memorial for the Act of Remembrance
Ceremony at war memorial will follow the recognised format including the exhortation & response (we will remember them) & Kohima Epitaph, the last post & reveille, wreaths to be laid led by Lord Lieutenant, concluding with the National Anthem.
Guests then proceed to Swinton House Club for a buffet lunch.
LANCE CORPORAL THOMAS NORMAN JACKSON
Thomas Norman Jackson was born on 11 February 1897 and lived at 3 Market Street, Swinton in Rotherham. He was the eldest son of Mr and Mrs Edwin Jackson. He worked as an apprentice fitter at a local iron works and then at Mexborough Locomotive Depot as an engine cleaner. Thomas voluntarily enlisted in the army in September 1916. He joined the 1 Battalion of the Coldstream Guards.
His division were storming the Canal Du Nord which was a part of the Hindenburg Line, which was a vast system of German defences in the North Eastern area of France. On 27 September 1918, Norman’s battalion was ordered to breach the German defences over the Canal du Nord. Whilst being held up by machine gun fire, Thomas’ Company Commander, Captain Frisby, asked for volunteers to charge the machine gun nest which was holding them up. Thomas was one the first to volunteer along with another man. They both followed their company commander and managed to take over two of the machine guns and took twelve of the soldiers as prisoners. This allowed his company to advance.
Later on in the same day, his platoon was ordered to charge an enemy trench. Thomas was one of the first to charge into the trench and was noted to have shouted ‘Come on boys!’ He jumped into the trench and killed the first two soldiers he met. He was then shot in the head and died. Captain Frisby recommended him for the Victoria Cross. His Victoria Cross citation reads that he displayed ‘Great Valour’. He died with the rank of Lance Corporal.
His name is displayed on the memorial plaque at the Mexborough Railway Station where he worked as an engine cleaner during peacetime. Unfortunately, Lance Corporal Jackson’s name was not added to the Great Central Railway War Memorial when it was built in Sheffield in 1922. It wasn’t until 2016 that L/Cpl Jackson’s name was added to the memorial.
A painting was commissioned by the local constabulary which is hanging in the Swinton Library. Jackson’s award was published in the London Gazette on 26 November 1918. His fiancée Daisy Flatt, from Kenley, Surrey, and his sister Charlotte (Lottie) were presented with his Victoria Cross by the King on Saturday 29 March 1919. His medals are kept in the Coldstream Guards Museum in London. Like all Victoria Cross winners, he is commemorated at the Union Jack Club in Waterloo, London.
| Date: | Thursday 27th September 2018 |
|---|---|
| Start Time: | 10:30 |
| Finish Time: | 12:00 |
| Location: | St Margaret's Church, Church Street, Swinton, S64 8EG |
| Contact Person: | Ron Moffett |