The Potteries is Stoke-on-Trent in the Midlands, in the 50's - 500 pubs, 500 potteries belching smoke and residue into middle class industrial England. The pollution was so bad that Jackson's mother would only do the family washing when the wind was blowing from the west!
This is Jackson's tale, his potted history and captivating story of his career with William Adams, Royal Doulton and Royal Crown Derby.
Jackson joined William Adams in 1948 at the age of 15. William Adams specialised in making white pottery, ironstone and cookware. The clay and coal was sourced from the same area. Later the clay came from Devon & Dorset and china clay from Cornwall. Adams produced chambers, wash basins, big jugs and plates with a rounded edge for hotels and ships.
Earthenware was distinctive as being off-white, china plates are white and translucent with a singing tone as opposed to a dull tone.
In 1842, known as the Golden Age of Toilets, the sanitary problem of the land was described in literature as 'in great and sordid glory'. In 1845 Henry Doulton produced salt glazed stoneware sewer pipes, thereby changing the sordid glory to the sanitisation of Britain.
In 1877 Royal Doulton moved to Stoke-on-Trent. Bone china was so named as it was a mixture of china clay, feldspar, flint & bone. The bone was from the ox, sourced from the Argentine as it was free of iron. Porcelain does not contain bone.
Jackson's job as Kiln Asst Manager for Royal Doulton in 1954 was to check the smoke control, the burners and the temperatures. Later he took charge of the department, duties included the selection of biscuit ware, the dipping, then glazing, with responsibility for 120 workers of the the 1500 in the plant. Many of the workers were women, where their dextrous and fine motor skills were appreciated, especially in the application of the gold trims, plus their tolerance to the the repetitiveness of many of their tasks.
Royal Doulton actively encouraged all managers to study, hence Jackson enrolled in a Pottery Manager's course. In 1964 he was appointed China Clay Manager, in charge of mould making through to the gloss process.
1960 saw the automation of the earthenware industry with simple shapes. A piece of clay was fed into the machinery, coming out the other end as a finished product. This helped to ensure maximum profitability in a bid to stem competition from other emerging markets. Enter Japan, who also made beautiful glazes. their entry eventually killed the industry, with increasing compeition also coming from off-shore.
Jackson joined Royal Crown Derby as Works Manager in 1968. Originally established in Chelsea, London, Crown Derby moved to Derby in 1877. They produced the famous posie ware, animals, beautifully decorated ware which included tea and dinner sets of the highest quality.
In 1970 Jackson moved to Australia and continued his career working for Fowlers Sanitaryware moving to brickmaking in 1975.
"What is a saggar maker's bottom knocker?
What's my Line? Was a classic British television panel game from the 1950's. Contestants with unusual occupations sign in, perform a mime of the job that they do, then field yes-or-no questions from four celebrities aiming to work out the contestant's job.
The weirdest occupation on the programme is widely believed to be a saggar maker's bottom knocker. Saggars are used to hold and protect pottery during kiln-firing and by placing various substances in a saggar it is possible to produce dramatic visual effects on the finished pottery.
Producing saggars to the correct specifications was a skilled job and needed a craftsman - the saggar maker. However, making the bases of the saggars is a less skilled job which can be left to a lesser craftsman, namely the saggar maker's bottom knocker who makes the bottom of the saggar by placing clay in a metal hoop and literally knocking it into shape"