Jack Counter
Jack Counter
Jack Counter, who came to live in Jersey after Army service, was known affectionately as 'Jersey's VC'
Jack Counter VC 1898-1970
Jack Thomas Counter was born on 3 November 1898 in Blandford Forum, Dorset.
He was 19 years old, and a private in the 1st Battalion, The King's (Liverpool) Regiment, during the First World War when he was awarded the VC.
The son of Frank and Rosina Counter, he attended Blandford National School.
Front line
On 16 April 1918 near Boisieux St Marc, France, it was necessary for information to be obtained from the front line and the only way to get it was across open ground over some 250 metres with no cover and in full view of the enemy. A small party tried without success, followed by six men, singly, each one being killed in the attempt. Private Counter then volunteered and, going out under terrific fire, got through and returned with vital information which enabled his commanding officer to organise and launch the final successful counter-attack. Subsequently he also carried five messages across the open under heavy artillery barrage to company headquarters. He was also awarded the Imperial Service Medal.
In 1919 his regiment came to Jersey on garrison duty and when he was demobilised in 1921 with the rank of corporal he returned to the island to work as a postman for three years.
He left the island to work for the General Post Office in Sunbury on Thames for five years, but returned once more and married Ada Vauvert. They settled at First Tower. The island adopted him and he became known as 'Jersey's VC'.
Jersey Heritage history
This history is from the Jersey Heritage website history section:
Jack Counter was educated at Blandford National School, before finding employment as an apprentice at a tea company. Too young to join the army at the outbreak of war in 1914, he enlisted in the British Army in February 1917, at age 18.
He was posted to 1 Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment, where preparations for the oncoming Arras Offensive had begun.
In the trenches
On 16 April 1918, in a trench system close to Boisleux St Marc, during the German Spring Offensive, the battalion support line was placed in a precarious situation. With their forward assault force cut off due to heavy bombardment earlier that morning, a report was needed from the front line. The support line was separated from them by a road and then a forward slope (230m long), in full view of enemy positions.
The importance of the battlefield intelligence was crucial, and a small party was sent to reach the front. In complete open ground, the group was fired at by enemy machine guns, resulting in the leader being killed and others in the group being wounded. It was decided that a single person might be more successful. One by one, men attempted the deadly sprint across the road and down the slope to the front line. Five volunteers endeavoured to make it to the front, but each watched as the man before him fell. Not one made it back alive.
Private Counter volunteered as the sixth man. By keeping his face to the ground, and using the banks of the road for cover, he was able to drag himself inch by inch until he made it to the front line, all while German machine guns fired overhead.
With the vital knowledge now in hand, Counter had to face the same difficult task on the return to the support line. After safely making it back, the information he retrieved enabled the battalion commander to make a decision to counter-attack the German advance. This attack was successful, the British reclaiming much of the land lost to the German offensive. Counter went on to complete five more runs between the two lines, carrying vital messages. It was after this heroic and selfless effort that he was awarded the Victoria Cross, reported in the London Gazette on 22 May 1918.
Investiture
He had his official investiture ceremony on 22 June, receiving his medal from King George V, after which he travelled back home to Blandford where he received a hero’s welcome. With the majority of the town there to welcome him, he was presented with a £100 war savings certificate, and a gold pocket watch from his previous employer.
After finishing his service enlistment period, he left the army as a Corporal. In 1919 his battalion was stationed in Jersey, and when discharged in 1921, he came back to settle in the Island that he so fondly remembered, finding a job as a postman at the St Ouen post office until 1925. He then went back to England for a few years, working at a post office in Sudbury Common, Middlesex, before being drawn back to the Island for the final time in 1929.
Continuing his postal job (this time in St Helier), he married Ada Vauvert in 1921, and the couple had a daughter, Pearl. The family settled at First Tower, in an area now named Jack Counter Close. Hewas a prominent member of the Royal British Legion, served on the committee and was often the standard bearer at remembrance parades.
He died in 1970, in his old home, while on a trip to Blandford with his sister, Gertrude. His ashes are interred at St Saviour’s Church.
Purchased by the Société Jersiaise in 1989, Jack Counter’s medals are now a permanent part of the museum collections. As well as the VC, his medals include the British War Medal 1914-20, the Victory Medal 1914-19, the Imperial Service Medal, the King George VI Coronation Medal and the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.
