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1885 - 1976

George John Jackson was born on October 13, 1885, in Simcoe, Ontario, where he attended primary and secondary schools. His parents were born in Ontario of Scottish descent and were of a large family engaged in lumber manufacture, including furniture specialties. Jackson came out to British Columbia for a brief period then returned to Ontario where as an undergraduate he worked on the GTP railway surveys around Lake Huron. In 1909 he obtained his Civil Engineering degree from Queens University. Jackson then moved out West and articled with the surveyor Ernest Cleveland, receiving his British Columbia Land Surveyors commission in 1911.

Jackson remained with the firm Cleveland and Cameron until 1917, when he enlisted and served overseas with the Canadian Engineers. In 1919, after returning from war service, he was engaged by the provincial government on Crown Land surveys in the Lumley region. The next year he joined the Photo Topographic Division of the Provincial Surveys Branch, and in 1922 he was assisted by fellow surveyor William Moffatt for the next six years. Jackson remained with this department for the next thirty years until superannuated in 1950. His assignments till 1931 were in the southern interior between Grand Forks and the Skagit Valley inclusive. Then, except for two seasons, he worked on Vancouver Island, from Barkley Sound to Cape Scott and Johnstone Straits. Some of the mountains that he climbed in the line of work on the island are: Tsitika Mountain, Mount Ashwood, Whiltilla Mountain, Ursus Mountain, Mount Quimper, Mount Palmerston, 5040 Peak, Lucky Mountain, Mount Derby, Merry Widow Mountain and Mount Wolfenden. It was in this period that air photos were introduced and eventually assumed dominant role in topographic mapping. In 1933, along with other surveyors such as Norman Stewart and Alan Campbell, he was "on leave without pay" due to drastic cuts in the Budget because of the depression. In 1939 Jackson participated in a "crash program" in the Rocky Mountain Trench with an assignment on the Finlay River.

In 1921 Jackson married Janet "Bonnie" McKiee but had no children. For many years they resided on their rural acreage on Cedar Hill X Road north of Victoria, where they enjoyed their flowers, orchard, vegetable garden and trees. Later they moved to a property adjoining Uplands Golf Course where he could enjoy his birdwatching.

Characteristically quiet and undemonstrative, Jackson was a keen sportsman with his rod, gun and dogs as well as a discerning naturalist. George Jackson passed away in Victoria on November 10, 1976, at the age of ninety-two. He was both Charter and Life member of the Association of Professional Engineers of British Columbia.

Sources:
Jackson, G. J. "Topographical survey, Toquart and Kennedy Rivers." Report to the Minister of Lands, 1941. p. S37-S38.

Obituary. Corporation of Land Surveyors of the Province of British Columbia. Report of Proceedings of the Seventy-Second Annual General Meeting. 1977. Vancouver, B.C. p. 139-140.

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