Lack of space and the impracticalities of fitting bunks into this section of the ship meant they slept in hammocks. A metal locker was provided for each man to keeps his belongings in. There might have been a hard wooden bench to sit on. They didn’t overdo the comfort in those days. There was certainly no space for leisure activities.
With resilience and determination Jack set about making his creations in the crew mess room amidships. When his shipmates came off watch or sat down for a meal he would move his material into the ship’s galley where he continued among the pots and pans. Space here would also have been at a premium.
He may very well have been working watches of four hours on and four hours off while at sea, so time too would have been limited. But he painstakingly worked on and eventually produced a whole selection of playable instruments that have to be classed as works of art. More importantly we can imagine that all the while he worked his thoughts would be of his girlfriend and his family at home. So there is not only exquisite craftsmanship in each instrument there is an inbuilt abundance of love.
Small wonder that these remarkable instruments ‘speak’ for themselves when played by professionals.
In 1996 Lord Yehudi Menuhin put Jack’s matchstick violin and bow to the test and declared “It is a quite wonderful instrument”. An accolade indeed.
In 2000 Country Music superstar Glen Campbell performed “Amazing Grace” with Jack’s 1937 Guitar on American tv. He stated, “ It’s an incredible work of art and as good as any guitar I’ve played from that era”.
Jack’s son Tony recalls that when he first met Glen Campbell in 1996 he said he was only expecting to see a tiny crude model. When handed a full-size guitar he could not believe it was made from matchsticks.
He also mistook the patterns created by Jack with the blackened, burnt match-heads to be a painted on design.
