9th Battalion, East Kent Regiment (The Buffs)
Henry Croome Jackman was born on 3 June 1895, at Wandsworth, Surrey, the son of James Croome and Mary Ellen Jackman. He was a single man living at Breadstone, near Berkeley, Gloucestershire.
He applied for an Officer’s commission in July 1915 and was considered fit at his medical at Horfield Barracks, Bristol on 26 July 1915. He requested to join the infantry — preferably a south western county regiment but was commissioned into the Buffs (East Kent) Regiment on 14 August 1915, being posted to the 9th Battalion.
On 28 November 1915 he was found dead at Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex and an inquest was held where his father (a solicitor) gave evidence that four or five years earlier, and once or twice since, his son had suffered a ‘sunstroke’ during which he was semi-conscious. (Possibly this was a form of epilepsy?).
On the outbreak of war Hugh had enlisted in the 9th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment as a Private but he was discharged as medically unfit in September 1914 (see note). This was due to ‘sunstroke’ and instructions were given for him to be kept very quiet.
He entered the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester and stayed two terms, before applying for his officer’s commission.
The witness for the Army revealed that shortly before his death, Jackman he had been put under
open arrest for refusing to get out of bed to go on duty. He was carefully examined by two Medical Officers, who could find nothing wrong with him. He was then brought before the CO of the 9th Buffs, who learnt for the first time of Jackman’s previous discharge on medical grounds.
He was later found dead, his throat having been cut, having left a farewell letter showing the intention to commit suicide. The verdict of the Coroner’s Court was ‘suicide during temporary insanity’. He was aged 20.
The Senior Medical officer at Shoreham expressed the opinion that the ‘sunstrokes’ ‘were really attacks of insanity’.
Jackman was buried in a family plot in Berkeley Cemetery and was, in time, joined by his parents.
Note: Unusually part of Jackman’s Service File has survived in the National Archives WO339/37015), as part of the Army Pension Records. This relates to his short time in the 9th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment. Evidently he joined this battalion (the Grimsby Battalion) at Grimsby on 22 September 1914 (number 425). He was discharged as medically unfit on 3 September 1914 — the reason ‘not likely to become an efficient soldier’.
Researched by Graham Adams 15 July 2011