Geoffrey Laird Jackson (10 January 1894 – 9 April 1917) was an English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played for

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

from 1912 to 1914, and for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in 1914. He died of wounds in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Jackson was born at

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, the eldest son of Brigadier General Geoffrey M. Jackson and of his wife Jessie C. C. Jackson. His father commanded the

Sherwood Foresters The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to f ...

and was managing director of the

Clay Cross Clay Cross is a town and a civil parish in the North East Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. It is a former industrial and mining town, about south of Chesterfield. It is directly on the A61. Surrounding settlements include North Wi ...

Colliery Company. Jackson was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and was in the cricket XI in 1911, 1912 and 1913, being captain in the last year. While still at school he played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for Derbyshire. He made his debut in August 1912 against

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

: he took a wicket and two catches and scored 2 in the only innings he played. He played two matches for Derbyshire in 1913. Jackson then went to

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

and appeared in three first-class matches for the university in 1914. He played one county championship match for Derbyshire in 1914 before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in which he lost his life. Jackson was a right-hand batsman and played twelve innings in seven first-class matches with an average of 12.50 and a top score of 50. He was a right-arm medium pace bowler and took 10 first-class wickets at an average of 23.80 and a best performance of 3 for 52. Jackson was given a commission in the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

on the outbreak of World War I and went to France in October, 1914. He was invalided home, after the

Second Battle of Ypres During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pre ...

, suffering from gas poisoning and spent some months in England serving his Reserve Battalion. He returned to France, as Adjutant of the 1st Battalion, in December, 1915, and was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

on 1 January 1916. He served continuously until his death on 9 April 1917 at the Battle of Arras. He was mortally wounded by a piece of shell after advancing about 6000 yards, and died at

Fampoux Fampoux () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A farming village situated east of Arras, on the D42 road. The A1 autoroute passes by the village about half a mile away. Population P ...

, Arras, France before reaching the dressing station.Harrow School memorials
/ref> Jackson's brother

Guy Jackson Guy Rolf Jackson (23 June 1896 – 21 February 1966) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Derbyshire between 1919 and 1936, being captain for nine years. Jackson was born at Ankerbold, Tupton, Derbyshire, the son of Brig ...

and cousin Anthony Jackson also played cricket for Derbyshire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Geoffrey Laird 1894 births 1917 deaths Military personnel from Cheshire People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford English cricketers Derbyshire cricketers Oxford University cricketers Rifle Brigade officers British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I Sportspeople from Birkenhead