Jack died at the early age of 53 in 1949. He was buried with full military honours.

Jack’s connection to the military remained throughout his life through his membership of the Association of Jewish Ex-servicemen and Women. But in 1940, when the Home Guard was formed in Britain, Jack’s request to volunteer was refused. Having won the highest military honour in the previous war, he was rejected on the grounds that his father had not been born in Britain.

After his military service, Jack began an apprenticeship as a pattern cutter in a raincoat factory. By 1937 he owned the business. Seventy years later, his great-grandchildren brought the business back into family ownership and the company now carries Jack’s name, Jack White V.C.

Following the outbreak of World War One, Jack volunteered for service and joined the 6th Battalion King’s Own (Royal Lancaster). He saw active service as a signaller in the Middle East. In March 1917, while advancing on Baghdad, Jack bravely saved the life of the other men in his pontoon and prevented vital equipment from falling into enemy hands. Three months later, due to his actions, the King awarded Jack the Victoria Cross. He was decorated in April 1919.

Jack Weiss was born in Leeds in 1896. His parents were Isaac and Olga Weiss; their name was later anglicised to White. The family moved to Manchester when Jack was a baby.