Norman Jackson

A flight engineer of No. 106 Squadron who climbed out onto the wing of a burning Lancaster in flight to fight the fire, and was awarded the Victoria Cross. Norman Cyril Jackson was born on 8 April 1919 in Ealing, Middlesex. He was a fitter and turner by trade. He joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve in 1939 and in July 1943 became a flight engineer with No. 106 Squadron, flying Lancasters. On the night of 26-27 April 1944 his aircraft, ME669, had bombed the ball-bearing factories at Schweinfurt when a German night fighter attacked. A fuel tank in the starboard wing caught fire. Jackson, already wounded by shell splinters, put on a parachute, took a fire extinguisher and climbed out onto the wing while the aircraft was flying. Holding an air intake with one hand, he fought the flames with the other. The fire burned his hands, face and clothing badly. The fighter returned; its gunfire hit his legs and he was swept off the wing. His parachute was damaged by fire but opened enough to slow his fall from about 20,000 feet and save his life. He broke an ankle on landing. He crawled to a village at dawn and was captured. He spent ten months in hospital and was then moved to Stalag IX-C. He made two escape attempts; on the second he reached a unit of the US Third Army. What he had done became known only when the surviving crew were released at the end of the war. The Victoria Cross record is dated 23 October 1945 and was published on 26 October 1945. He received it alongside Leonard Cheshire, who insisted Jackson go first, saying he had stuck his neck out further. After the war he worked as a travelling salesman for Haig. He and his wife Alma had seven children. He died on 26 March 1994 at Hampton Hill and is buried in Twickenham Cemetery. The Norman Jackson Centre in Hampton Hill is named after him.