At 11am on 11 November, the country falls silent. Each year, Armistice Day gives us a moment to pause, reflect and pay our respects to all those who have served and sacrificed in war and conflict, so that we may live in peace.
Why we mark Armistice Day
Armistice Day marks the anniversary of the agreement signed in 1918 to end the fighting of the First World War, as a prelude to peace negotiations. The word ‘armistice’ comes from the Latin for a standstill of arms.
Every year the occasion is marked with a two minute Silence at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month. While we especially recall the First World War (1914–1918) and the Second World War (1939–1945), we also remember everyone who has served, suffered or given their lives in wars and conflicts throughout history.
Our own connection
Partners and employees from Jacksons, and from the firms from which Jacksons is descended, served in both world wars. Fortunately, none lost their lives in the fighting, but the effects of war can last long after the guns have fallen silent. Today, we remember some of them and the sacrifices they made.
Major Basil Jackson, DSO
Basil Jackson was one of three Jackson partners, alongside Gilbert Jackson, the founder of Jacksons, and Gilbert’s brother Francis Henry Jackson, Basil’s father.
Mobilised in 1914 as a Captain in the 4th Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment, and later promoted to Major, Basil saw active service. He was awarded the DSO and was twice mentioned in Dispatches. Wounded on 22 April 1915, he survived the war, but sadly died in 1920, aged 39, as a consequence of the wounds he suffered on active service.
Clifford Theodore Cohen, MC
Clifford Theodore Cohen and his brother, Nathan Leslie Cohen, sons of Reuben Cohen – who was a partner and the founder of a firm that was later acquired by Jacksons, both served in the Second World War.
On 20 May 1940, Clifford was serving in France with the 1st Tyneside Scottish Battalion of the Black Watch. Equipped only with basic weaponry and vastly outnumbered, his men fought at Ficheux using only rifles and grenades against tanks. It was for his ‘conduct and coolness’ under fire that he was recommended for the Military Cross.
Captured by the enemy, Clifford spent five years as a Prisoner of War, suffering additional hardship after his captors identified him as Jewish. He was liberated in March 1945 and awarded the Military Cross in February 1946.
After the war, Clifford resumed his legal career. In 1953 he was appointed a County Court Judge, becoming respected as a ‘no nonsense’ judge, and he also served as a Deputy Lieutenant for Durham. He died in 1972, aged 66.
Captain George ‘Fred’ Lucas
George ‘Fred’ Lucas was articled with Lucas, Hutchinson & Meek before the First World War. Lucas, Hutchinson & Meek was one of the Teesside practices from which today’s Jacksons is descended. Fred began the war as a Lieutenant with the 4th Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment and was promoted to Captain. Wounded at Ypres, he later transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and was mentioned in Dispatches.
A wonderful letter survives that shows Fred’s commitment to his work. In May 1915, he wrote to the partner Mr Meek to say he was ‘off to France in an hour’s time’, enclosing some papers and apologising that he had been so ‘busy & harassed lately’ that he had done nothing with them!
We will remember them
This Armistice Day, we invite everyone to join us in pausing for the two minute silence at 11am to remember Basil, Clifford, Nathan, Fred and the countless others who served, and all those who have given their lives in wars and conflicts across time.
Lest we forget.
