Herbert Jackson (crammer)

He returned to Oxford to work as a crammer, a tutor who coached students to pass exams and gained a reputation as the last hope of men on the verge of failing their degrees.

His reputation for taking long walks in the nearby countryside gave him the nickname "The British Workman", shortened to "Britters" in the Oxford style.

Jackson wore old clothes and trousers with a low crotch, which led to rumours among students that they concealed a coiled-up tail.

[3] Jackson's father and sister moved to join him in Oxford in 1871, while George remained in Plymouth where he practised as a surgeon.

The military historian and Oxford professor Charles Oman described Jackson as "the last refuge of the much-ploughed man who was on the eve of dismissal from his College" (for poor academic performance).

[3] The Oxford Chronicle noted that Jackson had "a considerable reputation for success with backward men" and he had particular expertise with Hebrew.

[1][2] Jackson worked as a crammer for almost the next 40 years, focusing on wealthy undergraduates seeking only to achieve an ordinary degree.

[3] He is recorded in the 1881 census as residing at a lodging house on Museum Terrace; by 1891 he had moved to St John Street where he rented rooms in the home of a clerk of the Bodleian Library.

[4] Jackson's failing eyesight in later years led to him being unable to read newspapers or continue his long walks.

[2] Oman described him as wearing "an old grey jacket, a very baggy pair of flannel trousers, and a woollen scarf or comforter twisted round his neck instead of a collar.

[2] Counsell recalled Jackson's shirt being worn open at the throat, exposing a hairy chest, and that he wore large white socks loosely over oversized shoes.

[3][4] In later years Jackson grew fat, weighing 20 stone (280 lb; 130 kg) by Counsell's time, and his short coat could no longer button up and bulged at the seams.