Rebel Jack goes Home
The story begins in the year 1980. Mick and Harry Wylie from Ainsworth in Bury have just learnt of the existence of a tip in Ashton-Under-Lyne . Unfortunately, they don't know the exact location but Phil Brown does. He wants £10 for this piece of information. Ever the shrewd businessman, Harry Wylie offers Phil a lid which is worth £10 (but he had only paid £5 for it!). Phil Brown accepts the lid, and Harry and Mick learn the location of what was to become a very famous tip - the renowned Gambrel Bank in Ashton-Under-Lyne . This was a very old dump dating back to the early 1880's . It was famous for producing some very good items, many of which were to be found in the first few feet of ash, including many potlids.
Shortly after learning about Gambrel Bank, Harry arranged a dig for the following Sunday, with son and digging partner, Mick Wylie. On the Saturday, Phil Brown and digging partner Gilly visited the site, sank a hole but found nothing of consequence. Sunday dawned - it was not a good start to the day, it was raining and Mick didn't want to get out of bed! A decision was taken to go out anyway.Harry arrived on the tip first and jumped straight into Phil Brown's hole. "I'm not digging in there, that's Phil Brown's hole", declared Mick Wylie. "Well, I'm in here now, and I'm staying" said Harry Wylie. Having won the argument, Harry let Mick in to the hole, which they took down to eight feet. At about this level there was a hard black seam, possibly nightsoil, with very little below. The job of caving in the hole began, and both Mick and Harry caved in their respective sides.When he was only about three feet from the top of the hole, Mick Wylie pulled out a fairly small potlid.He jumped out of the hole and started frantically rubbing the lid in sheer disbelief. Harry watched the performance as Mick realized that this was not a potlid with a paper label, this was the real thing , the lid which is illustrated with this article, later to be known as Rebel Jack.When Phil Brown got to hear of what had come out of his hole, he was a little upset to say the least. At the time, he was heard to remark that he didn't sleep for a week afterwards!
Harry proudly displayed this lid at several bottle meetings and shows but it was eventually sold to Henry Chesterman. It stayed in Bristol for the best part of fifteen years but at the Chepstow Show earlier this year, Harry was able to buy it back, and return it back to where it belongs - in the Northwest of England.Yes, Rebel Jack had finally come home!
Years ago, Gerald Hays from Manchester University researched this lid for Harry. It is attributed to Chemist Thomas Jackson of Great Ducie Street , Manchester . This same Chemist also had coloured prattware lids made. An astute and wary entrepreneur, he made sure the plates used to make his lids were passed over to him, so his scenes could not be copied. This may well account for the rarity of any Jackson lid, this particular example being no exception. It is presently unique - unless of course you can tell us otherwise .It is a black and white lid, but with the detail of a coloured prattware lid. Oh yes - the name Rebel Jack ? Look carefully at the scene of the lid and you can see Jack. He is the little boy. The scene is from a Granny's or Dames School , a type of institution to be found BEFORE the compulsory education of all children from 1870. The lady in the chair is called Old Birch, and she is telling mother what a naughty boy - or rebel , young Jack has been .