Charles Bernard Jackson

c.1911

Matriculation

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Charles Bernard Jackson was born in 1893 in Woodville, Derbyshire, the eldest of three boys, and grew up in nearby Swadlincote, where his father worked as a pottery warehouseman. He attended Burton Grammar School and later resided at St Anselm’s Hostel, during which time he was a matriculation student. It is unclear, however, whether Charles went on to take a degree. In 1916, he joined the First World War as a lieutenant in the Royal Engineers, eventually rising to Captain.  Whilst there, he witnessed the surprise first British tank attack, which took place on the Somme in September 1916. 

 

After the war, Charles remained in the Royal Engineers until the 1920s, when ill health forced him to retire. He subsequently established and ran ‘C.B. Jackson & Co’, a central heating company based in Hobart-Place, London. Among their other work, the company was responsible for the installation of the central heating in Marks & Spencers, Queen Street, Cardiff in 1934, a system noted to ‘[give] constant temperature in the main building, ensuring comfort to customers although it may be freezing outside.’ Charles died at his home in Edgeware in July 1943, shortly before his 50th birthday, and was survived by his wife Florence.

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