Harrogate Herald - 21st April 1915

Private Robert Jackson, 5th West Yorkshire Regiment, whose photo we give this week is a son of Mrs Jackson, 38 College Road, Harlow Hill, Harrogate. Gunner G E Wallace, Royal Field Artillery, whose photo also appears, is stationed at Shaftesbury, Dorset. Private A H Wright is with the 2/5th West Yorkshire Regiment in Matlock.

Harrogate Herald - 15th December 1915

Photo - Private R Jackson, of the 1/5th West Yorks, is in the Beaulieu Hospital suffering from rheumatism. Private Jackson, whose home is on Harlow Hill, Harrogate, has been back from the Front just over three weeks. When he was invalided back the West Yorks were still on the Ypres front. They were in good health. The men were having a hard tome with the weather, but they were taking things as soldiers do, in the best of spirits. They were doing first line work in the trenches as they had been doing for the past seven months. There had been the usual narrow escapes. Some of them had their dug-outs blown up. There were three men in one dug-out when a shell came over and took the roof clean off without the occupants sustaining injuries. Another shell came over and struck a dug-out. The shell was an 18lb on, and hit two men, bruising their shoulders, but fortunately the shell did not explode. When he left there were two inches of snow and three feet of water, but the men were provided with high boots. They had also got their winter skin coats and looked like Esquimaux [sic]. Private Jackson came to be admitted to a Harrogate hospital by pure chance and deems himself very lucky to be so near home. He is making just steady progress.

Harrogate Herald - 22nd December 1915

Lance Corporal J Dobson writes : 

I was very much interested when reading you issue of the Herald for December 15th. I happened to notice Private R Jackson's statement about the narrow escapes of some of the 5th West Yorks at the Front, and as I am one of the chaps who was injured in the second incident to which he referred, I though I would drop you a line or two. The number of coincidences and narrow escapes in this great struggle are indeed wonderful. Only the other day I met a lad out of my own platoon in this hospital who I thought was in the trenches. I am not a Harrogate chap, but I have not forgotten the splendid week we had amongst the Harrogate people during November 1914, and I wish you and your numerous body of readers a happy Xmas.