Ivor Nicholas (SH 44-49) has kindly submitted the following notice about
Dr John Hubert Jackson (SH 44-49), who died on 27 Aug 2011.

“A jocular personality at St Beghians’ reunions, Dr John Hubert Jackson of Barrow-in -Furness has died aged 81. Son of Dr and Mrs John Pritt Jackson, of Millom, Hubert mimicked sounds of steam trains passing the nursery window before uttering words such as ‘dad’ and ‘mam’. The love of railways was evident all of his life. He dearly wished to be an engine driver, but chronic asthma prevented his pursuing this and he chose the medical profession. The asthma worsened and he was hospitalised several times. His younger sister Agnes, now a retired popular Millom doctor, nurtured him through early years at Millom School. At Seascale Preparatory School Hubert formed lifelong friendships including that with “Bar” Richard Woodall. Hubert had flat feet and his footwear gained him the nickname “boots”.

When he started at St Bees in the last of the wartime years, Hubert was unhappy. He initially hated the place due to cruel treatment by a master, and he ran away, needless to say down the railway line towards Millom. Next day a porter at Seascale recognised the distressed lad and telephoned his home. Dr Jackson, himself an old St Beghian, collected Hubert, and promptly sorted the matter out with the headmaster, John S Boulter. The master concerned left, and Hubert returned to school. Now a much happier boy, he made many friends including Ivor Nicholas (SH 44-49), who encouraged him to appreciate music and “escape”, by switching off and practising on the piano in the wooden huts (now the Management Centre), or listening to the classics in the music centre in Barony. Hubert then enjoyed life at St Bees and though not outstanding at sports, collected a broken nose at boxing, regarding it as a trophy, in his unique way of seeing the funny side of things!
Hubert studied medicine at Dublin, and there formed a deep love of Ireland, perhaps spending too much time learning to ride horses, and singing in the chorus of the opera. He took singing lessons to help his breathing control. Because of these hobbies, he welcomed another year to qualify.

Back in Cumberland, Hubert did his houseman training at Whitehaven Hospital, where his polite manner and patient care became a talking point, as they were with the staff at Dovenby Hall, a hospital for the mentally afflicted. He married Mary, a nurse, and moved to Bristol to become a GP, in practice with Dr Bernard, a great grandson of W.G. Grace. When he returned to Whitehaven and Millom to continue his career, it was apparent that his personal health was worse than that of many of the patients he was treating. Changing tack he went into public health in Barrow-in-Furness, then into industrial health, initially with Vickers ship-builders, and then with Rothmans in Essex, and later British Coal in Yorkshire. He returned to Barrow doing DSS work in connection with industrial injuries.

His interest in steam trains never waned; he frequently visited Steamtown and Haverthwaite and holiday excursions usually included a rail trip. He even acquired an Andrew Barclay industrial locomotive and named it after his wife, Mary, who played a big part in cleaning and polishing it! Music - opera and classic, orchestra and bands, brass and military - attracted much of his interest. Photographer Ivor Nicholas describes Hubert as the most unforgettable character he ever met.

Hubert was the proud husband of Mary, who survives him with daughters Alexandra and Mary Therese, and grandchildren Stephanie, Robert, and Jamie.”