The Soldier's Details

Jackson enlisted AIF 23 Oct 1940 and later joined 2/4th’s ‘B’ Company 8th Platoon as a Driver under Commanding Officer Lt MacKinnon.  He was promoted to Lance Corporal.

As a POW in Singapore he was selected to work on the Burma-Thai Railway with ‘D’ Force Thailand, T Battalion.

Please read further about ‘D’ Force Thailand, T Battalion

Unfortunately we cannot be certain where Jackson worked.  There are no records.  We can only estimate when T Battalion worked:

Tarsau

Wampo

Konyu II

Hintok River Camp

Non Paduk

Saigon

Left – ‘Snake’ Jackson with brother, Charles George Jackson.

‘Snake’ was good mates with Reg Lawer WX8810.  Both men were drivers with ‘B’ Coy.  At Singapore they were both selected with Don Force Thailand, ‘T’ Btn and departed Singapore train station on 14 March 1943.  They were separated with Lawer joining W.O. II John Dooley Party and eventually going to Japan. Lawler survived. Jackson was sent to Saigon 2/2/1945 where he worked at a number of locations including Saigon docks and out of Saigon on aerodromes.    At the end of the war Snake Jackson was recovered 20 September 1945 to Singapore.

‘While working at Lein Kang, an aerodrome in the jungle in French Indo-China ‘Snake’ and fellow POWs Joe Corkhill, Gunner King from 4 Anti-Tank and Tom Bennett 2/10th Artillery raided the Jap camp and stole some Red Cross parcels.  They were caught and tortured.  Made to lie on their backs the Japanese then poured hot water down their throat until they went ‘out’.  Next the Japanese would then jump on their bellies and throw cold water on their faces to bring them around.  This was repeated over and over again.  Later they were each tied to trees.  Gunner King realised he was not tied too tightly to his tree and wriggled loose.  King walked past the Guard House, saluted the Japanese and reached the jungle before the guards had realised what had taken place.  King remained at large until a few days before the war ended.’  Information from ‘Singapore and Beyond’ by Don Wall.

Read further about Saigon

He married 23 November 1940 to Nellie Davey.  Jackson died 11 March 1987 aged 70 years.

Jackson’s parents Thomas Jackson married 1909 Philips River to Elisabeth Barnes Nicholas. Tom (Jnr) was the younger of two sons and three daughters.  Elizabeth died at Denmark in 1958 and Tom (Snr) died in 1958 in Perth.

Tom Jackson (Jnr) died 11 Mar 1987 at Nollamara.  Nellie died in Perth 2008.