Jack White (23rd
December 1896 to 27th November 1949)
On an
overcast Sunday afternoon I drove to Blackley in Manchester to find the grave
of Jack White who was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry. He lies in a
Jewish cemetery which doesn't advertise its location loudly (I drove passed it
twice.) I’m not sure when Jewish folk traditionally visit their dead but I've
only ever visited one Jewish cemetery that was open. I had to climb over the
tall fence to get into this one. I suffered a heart-pounding moment as I had to
grip a horizontal stone wall level with my face and hoist my body onto it. Some
other visitors were there but didn't follow me. I found the grave after ten
minutes of searching.
Jack was born Jacob Weiss in Leeds two days before Christmas in 1896.
His dad was a Russian Jewish immigrant father and his mum was British. After
school he joined the family waterproofing company but the First World War
erupted and he joined the army. Aged only 20 he was fighting at Siege of Kut (100 miles south of Baghdad.) The troops were there to
attack an 8,000 strong British-Indian garrison.
On Wednesday 7th March 917 Jack was one of 60 soldiers crossing the Diyala River on boats when they came under heavy
machine-gun fire. The enemy had waited patiently for the best moment to attack.
Jack and the troops were mid-stream and couldn't find cover or organise a
defence; it was “every man for himself”. Many men died instantly and those who
lived were seriously wounded. Jack tied a telephone
wire to the boat, jumped overboard and somehow pulled it back to shore. Many
lives were saved and the wounded got treatment. Moreover artillery and
equipment didn't fall into enemy hands.
After the war Jack moved to Salford and aged 25 he married
May Daniels. He became a travelling salesman, specialising in antiques and
Persian rugs. He founded the Jewish Ex Servicemen’s Association and spent much
time looking after the welfare of Jewish Ex Servicemen. Bearing a rare VC medal
he was in public demand for talks and appearances. As the Second
World War raged he tried to join the Home Guard but was oddly refused. It was
claimed his parents had failed to be properly naturalized as British Citizens.
He became an apprentice cloth cutter at a factory that produced raincoats. With a
business head he rose to become the General Manager and then the owner. Life
cares nothing for fairness and Jack died of poor health aged 52.
I put a stone on the grave to show I had visited. I expected more
stones but there only three. He was buried here with full military honours. His
bravery featured in a comic strip in Victor comic in 1987. Jack’s name
lives on now. The factory he owned now makes high-quality carefully-crafted
clothing and is run by his great-grandson. I’ve had a look on the website (too
expensive for me - jackets for Ł350 - you can buy a car for that!) The website
is here if you want a look : www.PrivateWhiteVC.com
The clothes have an army feel in line with the heroics of Private
Jack. The company has made gas suits for the Gulf War, uniforms for heads of
state, school wear for Harrods and Burberry raincoats. For 25 years they made
the bright red eye-catching Virgin Atlantic red suits for the air-hostess.
I strolled around the cemetery populated by many names ending in
“Berg” and "Man." I ate a packet of crisps then got my belly and bum
dirty getting back over the wall. I didn’t mind getting mucky for Private Jack.
I did one more salute and left. I've since visited again and now have to code
for the security gate (it works on all Jewish cemeteries in Manchester.)
Touching the
“VC” as usual…
Leaving a stone
to showed I had called by…
I called in the
cemetery in September 2016 and looked for Jack again. I couldn’t drive passed
and not leave a pebble on his grave…
