A Monthly Publication

JAMES FREDERICK JACKSON (1894-1966)

THE STORY OF A BEACH CHAIR ASSISTANT

By J R Smith

 Amongst my collection of Hunstanton ephemera I have a small booklet published in 1911, entitled “The Rocks of Hunstanton And Its Neighbourhood” by J. F. Jackson (Victoria Avenue) – Price 8d.. Not only is the booklet still the most complete work on the geology of our famous cliffs, the story of how the booklet came to be published is a fascinating one.

 James Jackson was born at Mold, Flintshire in 1894, but as a small child he had poor health and his mother made the decision to move with her only child to a resort renowned for its healthy air – Hunstanton. They settled in Victoria Avenue, where even as a small boy he was attracted by the fossils to be found in the cliffs. Encouraged by his mother who was also interested in geology he began to form an outstanding collection. This passion for fossils was to become a driving force for the rest of his life.

 Fortunately he was encouraged in his hobby by Mr. Bellerby Lowerson, the then Principal of Ruskin School at Heacham, and it was decided he should write a small booklet about his discoveries of fossils at Hunstanton and the geology of the area. The affection and encouragement of the Heacham headmaster towards this young genius can be easily seen in a note he made at the rear of this booklet:-

 “The author of this little book is a boy of fifteen, poor, unlearned (save in his own subject), and unhelped, save by myself, who can help but little. In the teeth of great difficulties he has made himself thoroughly conversant with the local rocks; and, following my advice, he issues this brochure. My desire herein is that it may find its way into the hands of someone better to able to help than I; who will stretch out a friendly hand to a gifted lad, heavily handicapped by the struggle for bread. The author has read little but geology; he talks geology, he thinks geology. Given a chance he might make the name of Hunstanton as famous in the annals of the science as now is Cromarty. But the lad needs help if he is to do much. He needs books, a petrological microscope, access to Jermyn Street or South Kensington, and freedom from the necessity to earn his living as a house painter or attendant on beach chairs. I often wonder how many of the ladies and gentlemen lolling on those same chairs guess at the dreams and desires of the shy lad who takes their pennies. I wonder that he can attend to them when a storm has uncovered a section of the beach that he rarely sees, and all the geologist in him is urging him to the spot to seek for his rock treasure-trove.”

 Largely with the help of the Mr. Lowerson it would seem that his words did not go unheeded, as he writes a PS. – “Let me add a word of hearty thanks to those gentlemen of Hunstanton, and elsewhere who, by donations and by advertising in the book, have helped so willingly and generously. We set out facing a possible loss of £15. As we give the book its final “revise,” practically the whole of this is assured.”

The booklet was obviously a success as a second edition was soon published and Mr. Lowerson makes another comment – “The lad is now at school. He is working hard at mathematics and Latin, and making rapid progress. From many scientific men of great standing, like the veteran Sir A. Geikie (a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and President of the Geological Society, London), I had letters praising and admiring his little book. His desire would be, if it were possible of attainment, to get field work such as that under the Geological Survey.”

His future seemed to be assured when in 1914; he obtained the post as “General Assistant” to Dr. F. J. North in the Department of Geology in the National Museum of Wales at Cardiff. Unfortunately the post lapsed during the war and Jackson, who had lost the sight of one eye (a circumstance that never affected his outstanding ability as a collector) supported himself and his mother, to whom he was devoted, as a jobbing gardener. Good fortune was to come to him again when on a holiday in Dorset, he met another outstanding botanist and geologist of the time, S. Buckman, who helped him become a fellow of the Geological Society in 1924.

He later became the curator at the Sandown Museum on the Isle of Wight. After his mother’s death he left the Island and for six years worked as a jobbing gardener in the Torquay area, and in 1951 he retired close to Lyme Regis and continued his collecting. He made large collections of the local fossils, including a specimen of a rare dinosaur, now in the British Museum. During this time he recorded several new fossil species. For his holidays he spent time in many remote locations such as Mull or the Isle of Eigg collecting yet more rock specimens and fossils. He also desired that his discoveries should be shared and he donated over 21,000 specimens to the National Museum of Wales.

In later years he suffered from ill health, but was fiercely independent and lived alone in a small bungalow with his beloved cats at Charmouth in Dorset.. He died at the age of 72, on September 19^th, 1966.

A remarkable man of whom our town should be proud; to celebrate his achievements the Civic Society is considering having a reprint made of his first publication concerning the geology of the cliffs.

(My grateful thanks to Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for their help in preparing this article).