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Captain Jack Harkness was a young American serving as an RAF Group Captain stationed in Cardiff with the 133rd Squadron. He had a brief though intense affair with Captain Jack Harkness, the man from the future who had appropriated his name.
Biography
While based in the World War II time period (DW: The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances), Captain Jack Harkness had taken the name and assumed identity of an American airman who he knew would die in battle on 21st January 1941. Jack hadn't known anything about the other Jack as a person, even what he looked like, until, transported from the 21st century to 1941 with Toshiko Sato, they met each other. In 1941 again, the future Jack adopted the name Captain James Harper.
Jack was homosexual but trapped in a heterosexual relationship, he found himself going out to dance with his girlfriend Nancy Floyd at a Cardiff nightclub called The Ritz.
Distressed at the idea that his Nancy might actually be in love with him, he felt unhappy about leading her on. He also bore the pain of listening on the radio as a trainee pilot, Albert Richards, died when a German Messerschmitt shot him down on 14th May 1940. (TW: Captain Jack Harkness, WEB: Torchwood website)
On the night of 20th January 1941, Jack and "Harper" met. The two men felt an immediate attraction. Both had experience of war and of close friends having died by it, though Jack had to overcome the fear and reluctance over moving the relationship to a sexual level. Jack also demonstrated a strong compassion for others, backing up "Harper"'s story about Toshiko Sato working as a code-breaker for the government when she nearly fell victim to anti-Japanese prejudice. For his part, "James" knew Jack would die the next day.
Jack eventually struck up the courage to dance with "James" in front of a party of servicemen and their guests. As the Cardiff rift transported "James" and Toshiko back to their own time, the two men kissed passionately, leaving both in tears.
The next day, 21st January, during a training exercise, Jack and other RAF flyers, German aircraft appeared. Captain Jack Harkness died in air combat protecting Cardiff from a bombing raid. (TW: Captain Jack Harkness,WEB: Torchwood.org.uk)
Back in the present day, Toshiko Sato comforted Torchwood's Jack by telling him that 1941's Captain Jack would be proud that he took his name, carrying it on as he saves the world. (TW: Captain Jack Harkness)
Notes
While she set out to find out more about Torchwood 3 and its leader, Gwen Cooper was able to get a collegue to access records and make inquiries within the police database. The only Jack Harkness on record was an American pilot, who "went missing" in 1941. (TW: Everything Changes)
It is safe to assume these records were referring to the original Jack, and the lack of information regarding his death is explained by 51st Century Jack when he admits to Toshiko that he falsified records when adopting his identity. (TW: Captain Jack Harkness)
- Although the new Jack is still using this alias when experiencing WWII for the second time (when stuck in the 20th Century), it is likely the police have no records for him due to his involvement with Torchwood.
Behind the Scenes
1941's Captain Jack is identified as of the same rank as the future Jack. This could reflect a misunderstanding of the RAF rank structure by the Torchwood production team, since he only commanded a squadron, and Group Captains are never addressed or referred to as "Captain".