Private David Victor Jackson aged 23

David was born in Luddenden in 1895 and was the only child of James and Elizabeth Jackson. In 1911 the family is living at 23 Thorney Lane Midgley. David aged 15 is working as an under clerk. By 1914 he was a clerk at a Solicitors in Halifax Messes Godfrey, Rhodes and Evans David’s war records are not available, but he was in the Highland Light infantry (Glasgow Highlanders). We know that he had been injured twice already, with shrapnel wounds to his thigh in September 1917 fighting to the south West of Ypres (and after which he was shipped backed to Newport for treatment) and again in June 1918 where he received a minor head wound at Poperinge on the outskirst of Ypres. By the end of August, the Regiment was moved south and they spend a couple of weeks training at Beaudricourt to the West of Arras. Then on the 19th and 20th of September they move into positions at Equancourt in the Somme. Fellow villager Harry Oates set out from Equancourt on the day that he died, the 18th September, two days before David arrived. On the 23 rd Sept the Glasgow Highlanders move to the front line at Villers-Guislain, into the new positions gained by Harry’s regiment on the previous days during the Battle of Ephey. The war diaries show that they wait here for a few days before the next big engagement which started on the 29th. This was the battle of Saint Quentin Canal, a quickly planned attack building on the success of the Battle of Ephey. Success not so much in the amount of territory gained, but more a feeling that the level of defense from the enemy was diminishing. The main battle of Saint Quentin canal was about 8 miles to the south of Villers Guislain, but this was still a very active day of fighting for the regiment. There were in position early in the morning and after a short artillery barrage moved forward from their trenches at 5:54 am. It is a day of attack and counter attack with the Glasgow Highlanders making territory before being forced to withdraw and then advancing again. It was a foggy morning and the diaries state that ‘the fog kept getting thicker all the time which lessened the casualties but made keeping in touch and direction difficult.’ At 10:40am having made good progress and establishing a new front line, the enemy counter attacked. By 11am, a combination of ferocious machine gun fire and constant shelling of the new front line meant that a withdrawal had to be made. The diaries say that ‘all advanced parties were withdrawn to the old front line and every available man stood in line expecting attack. The enemy however did not attempt to exploit his success’ the following morning the regiment, realising that the enemy had withdrawn, moved to retake their forward position. In fact patrols on the night of the 30th realised that the enemy had retreated to the far bank of the Saint Quentin Canal, blowing the bridges up behind them. This was a gain of nearly 2 miles of territory for the allies in a period of less than 2 weeks. But this progress created a lot of casualties, the Glasgow Highlanders had 9 officers and 350 other ranks dead or wounded on the day, with 36 of the wounded being recovered from no man’s land under the cover of darkness. We know that David received shrapnel wounds to his chest and died at 8:30am on the 30th September in Casualty Clearing Station number 43 at Beaulencourt which is about 20 miles behind the front line. David was buried by the clearing station’s Methodist Chaplain at the Thilloy Road Cemetry at Beaulencourt. The cemetery contains the graves of 12 other men from his regiment and 230 other soldiers who died from wounds suffered during this battle. If David had died on the battlefield on the 29th and not in hospital on the 30th Sept, he would have certainly shared his resting place at Villers Guislain with fellow villager Harry Oates who had died the previous week. The Hebden Bridge Times obituary tells us a little more about the man: David was most studious in his studies and held many certificates for commercial subjects won at Sowerby Bridge and Halifax Technical Schools. At Midgley where he will be missed most, he was a willing worker at the United Methodist church, was a member of the choir, and regular in his attendance at the young man’s class. By his passing the village has lost one of its brightest and most promising sons.