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The Gwen Jackson Trophy - 02

After University, she entered the teaching profession and fought tirelessly for books and teaching aids for her school, once marching in person to the office of the Director of Education to make her case (successfully) for more equipment.  She met, and fell in love with, another teacher, whom she married in secret because in those days it was forbidden to have a married husband and wife in the teaching profession.


She contracted TB and was put in a sanatorium in Flint, where French Windows were kept open even in howling gales soaking the bedclothes and making life as a patient miserable. Her husband even cycled some 25 of miles to see her...but wasn't allowed in because it was not within visiting hours! (and we complain about administrators these days). The cure administered then was to isolate the lung, to "rest it" ... permanently unfortunately, by cutting the Frenic nerve. So Gwen continued through the rest of her ninety six years without the use of one lung.

She was always willing to try new things and learn new skills, even ballet at one point; at 85, she began to learn Spanish.  But whilst none of these anecdotes are particularly remarkable in themselves, collectively they portray an image of a character that was prepared to succeed no matter what the odds.


Sadly, Gwen died 2 years ago.  And in her later life, she had lived in a little house overlooking the Conway Valley, and had delighted at watching Hawks from RAF Valley fly past every now and then.  And it was the day after she died that her son, Mr Robert Jackson, for reasons that he has never yet been able fully to explain, picked up the ‘phone to ask if one of those Hawks could fly past his mother’s funeral to honour the life of this remarkable woman.


Sqn Ldr Little took the call, and he must have known that we can’t do things like that, and there would be hell to pay if the Boss found out, but someone was doing a SCT navex at the time, and, well, we couldn’t promise, but would see what we could do.  To cut a long story short, at precisely 4:30 pm, the time that had been requested, 2 hawks peeled over the Conwy Valley and flew directly over Gwen’s house and the funeral cortege.


Now it may not seem much, but those of Gwen’s friends and relatives gathered who had witnessed the last war and some from both, really felt quite elated and filled with pride over the fact that we had honoured them and Gwen in this fashion.  And because of that, her son, Robert set out to find if he could do anything for us in return for our gesture for his mother.


And so began one of the more remarkable episodes in my tenure as Squadron Commander and the creation of this magnificent new trophy for the graduates of fast-jet advanced flying training.


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Gwen Jackson Trophy 03 Gwen Jackson Trophy 01