Jackson joined the
British Army in April 1915, eight months after the
British entry into World War I, and was posted to the 18th Hussars (later the
18th Royal Hussars), a
cavalry regiment. As a trooper, he was dispatched to France for service on the
Western Front. After a few months he was transferred to the
East Yorkshire Regiment, a
line infantry regiment, and assigned to the 7th (Service) Battalion of his new regiment, a recently raised
Kitchener's Army unit made up of civilian volunteers. He participated in the
capture of Fricourt, on the opening day of the
Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916, and was wounded two weeks later during the
Battle of Bazentin Ridge. Repatriated to England for medical treatment and on recovery served with a reserve battalion before rejoining the 7th East Yorkshires in 1917. During the
German spring offensive of 1918, Jackson's battalion were tasked with the defence of
Hermies. On 22 March, Jackson, now a
sergeant, volunteered for an intelligence gathering patrol, which had to be conducted while the Germans laid down an artillery barrage. Later the same day, he was heavily involved in fighting off a German attack that initially penetrated his battalion's position and then put a machine-gun post out of action. Over the following days, the regiment conducted a fighting retreat. Near Albert, on 31 March, he took command of his company after all the officers had been killed or wounded and even retrieved wounded men while under fire. For his actions over the period 22 to 31 March 1918, he was awarded the
Victoria Cross (VC). The VC, instituted in 1856, was the highest award for valour that could be bestowed on a soldier of the
British Empire. The citation for his VC read as follows: Jackson received his VC ribbon from Lieutenant General
Cameron Shute, commander of
V Corps, on 18 May. He returned to England to be presented with the VC medal itself from King
George V; this ceremony took place at
Buckingham Palace on 26 June. He "returned home to Kirton, to a hero's welcome and Kirton Brass Band took part in the ceremonies along with most of the town's inhabitants". Jackson's response to this was to thank the townspeople for their "grand and hearty reception". After a period of leave, he returned to his battalion, which "in the last ten days of March had lost twenty-one officers and 431 men", and was still serving on the Western Front. Jackson's "luck ran out" on 24 August when he was
killed in action at
Thiepval, France. Originally buried near where he was killed, in 1927 his remains were relocated to the
AIF Burial Ground at Flers. "The village of Flers came into prominence in mid-September 1916 when it was captured by British and New Zealanders who had the use of
tanks for the first time. The village was lost in March 1918 and retaken by the British in August". He is commemorated on several memorials; that in his home town, one in
Boston and at
Wood Green in London. ==The medal==