John Robert Jackson – Royal Engineers, 16 Bomb Disposal Company
Corporal John Robert Jackson – Royal Engineers, 16 Bomb Disposal Company Corporal John Robert Jackson served with the Royal Engineers , one of the most technically skilled and hazardous branches of the British Army during the Second World War. Very little survives regarding his early life, and the surviving records begin with his wartime service. At the time of his death, John was serving with the 16 Bomb Disposal Company , 97 Bomb Disposal Section , units formed during the height of the Blitz when thousands of unexploded German bombs were falling across Britain. Bomb Disposal Companies were created rapidly in 1940–41 to meet this crisis, staffed by Royal Engineers personnel trained in mine clearance, demolitions, and improvised explosive device handling. Their work involved locating unexploded bombs after air raids, assessing their type and fuze, excavating ordnance buried deep in rubble or soil, and either defusing or destroying them on site. The dangers were extreme: many bombs con...
