William James Jack was born in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, the most eastern point in mainland Scotland in about 1896. He was the third son of drafter John Jack, and his wife Mary.
He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps at Aberdeen on the 10th August 1914, just six days after Britain declared war on Germany. At the time of enlistment, he put his occupation as a medical student, and was 17 years and 11 months old.
 |
| A photo of Dr Jack, shared on Ancestry by user brendakidd69 |
When he enlisted, his particulars were given. He was 5 feet and 6 3/8 inches and weighed 136 pounds. His girth when fully expanded was 36 inches and his range of expansion was 3 inches. He had a 'browned' complexion, grey eyes and light brown hair. His religion is listed as Presbyterian.
He spent a lot of his time in the war in India and Mesopotamia. He spent his first wartime Christmas in Aberdeen General Hospital with bronchitis. He was sent home to his parents address of Dales House, near Peterhead in February 1919. His brother Malcolm, two years older than him wasn't so lucky, he died in France in 1918. After the war had ended, in 1922, he was awarded a British War and Victory Medal.
On 2nd June 1924, he qualified officially as a doctor from the University of Aberdeen. He is found in the UK Medical Registers living in Peterhead in 1927 and 1931. As of yet, I have no idea what brought Dr Jack to Adlington. There was a Scottish Mr Jack who was the manager of Springfield Mill at the turn of the century, there is the chance that this was a relation, although he was born in Glawgow.
At some point, he met a local girl, Gladys Mary Sixmith, who he married at St Paul's Adlington in 1930. He was about 33 and she was about 26. Gladys Mary was the daughter of a cotton goods buyer, and the granddaughter of Jeremiah Unsworth, proprietor of Brook Mill. Gladys Mary's father built the Gladmar Hotel on Railway Road. It has been said that Gladmar was named after his daughters Gladys and Mary, I haven't found a daughter Mary, so I am presuming that this was named after Gladys Mary alone.
Dr Jack was registered as living at 5 Church Street in 1935, and by 1939 he was living where he is most remembered at 26 Church Street. He was here until 1940 when a bomb landed in the backyard, Dr Jack and his wife and two children were safe as they were sheltering in the cellar. However, there was a maid in the kitchen who was blown under the sideboard, and her soldier husband who was trapped in debris. They both had to be taken to hospital. According to recollections of the bombing, somewhere between two and six houses were demolished as a result of this bomb.
"One Saturday night I was at a dance in the village of Adlington, the sirens went, we heard the plane come over, and a bomb was dropped on the doctor’s house 50yards away,trapping the doctors wife and family in the cellar I don’t think they were hurt just shaken."ElsieHo, WW2 People's War, Contributed on: 11 March 2004
"When they came to the end of Westhoughton Road, they saw that the house belonging to Dr. Jack (who was my dad’s doctor) had received a direct hit. The rescue services were there of course. It transpired that Dr. Jack and family had all been in the cellar at the time and were safe but shaken. The spot where the doctor’s house had been is occupied by the police station now. Dr. Jack moved his surgery to an empty shop near the White Bear pub."Alan Jaggs, WW2 People's War, Contributed on: 08 May 2005
"... and a firebomb hit the house at the bottom of the street. It was Doctor Jack's house, but luckily they were in the cellar. The house was cut off - the side of the house had disappeared."Emily Stringfellow, WW2 People's War, Contributed on: 27 July 2005
WW2 People's War is an online archive of wartime memories contributed by members of the public and gathered by the BBC. The archive can be found at bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar
 |
| Dr Jack's house on Church Street after the bombing in 1940. |
Dr Jack moved his surgery to an empty shop near the White Bear pub. Not long after, a landmine landed nearby, and had to be exploded by bomb disposal experts, which wrecked his temporary premises. After this, he moved to 123 Railway Road. If modern day numbering is the same, this is the building on the corner of Railway Road, and Chorley Road, now home to Five Star Chinese.
At some time after 1947, he moved his family to Aberdeen. He was living at 67 Forest Road, Aberdeen when he died in March 1951 leaving effects of £6475.