John Travers Cornwell
VC (8 January 1900 – 2 June 1916), commonly known as Jack Cornwell or as Boy Cornwell, is remembered for his gallantry at the
Battle of Jutland during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Having died at the age of only 16, he was posthumously awarded the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and
Commonwealth forces. Cornwell is the third-youngest recipient of the VC after
Andrew Fitzgibbon and
Thomas Flinn.
Early life
John "Jack" Travers Cornwell was born as the third child of a working-class family at Clyde Place,
Leyton
Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...
,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
(now in
Greater London). His parents were Eli and Lily Cornwell; he had a sister and three brothers, as well as two half-siblings from his father's previous marriage. The family later moved to Alverstone Road,
East Ham. He left
Walton Road School at the standard age of 14, but was in the
Boy Scouts
Boy Scouts may refer to:
* Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement.
* Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement.
* An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are ...
. At the outbreak of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, ex-soldier Eli Cornwell volunteered for service and was fighting in France under
Lord Kitchener. His older brother Arthur also served in an infantry regiment on the Western Front.
In October 1915, Jack Cornwell gave up his job as a delivery boy and enlisted in the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
without his father's permission. He had references from his headmaster and employer. He carried out his basic training at
HMS ''Vivid'' Keyham Naval Barracks in
Plymouth, and received further training as a Sight Setter or Gun Layer and became Boy Seaman First Class. On Easter Monday 1916, Cornwell left for
Rosyth
Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440.
The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...
, Scotland, to join his assignment in the navy. He was assigned to
HMS ''Chester''.
Battle of Jutland
On 31 May 1916, ''Chester'' was scouting ahead of the
3rd Battlecruiser Squadron at the
Battle of Jutland when the ship turned to investigate gunfire in the distance. At 17:30 hours, ''Chester'' soon came under intense fire from four
''Kaiserliche Marine'' cruisers each her own size which had suddenly emerged from the haze and increasing funnel smoke of the battlefield. The shielded 5.5-inch gun mounting where Cornwell was serving as a sight-setter was affected by at least four nearby hits. ''Chester''s gun mountings were open-backed shields and did not reach down to the deck. Splinters were thus able to pass under them or enter the open back when shells exploded nearby or behind. All the gun's crew were killed or mortally injured except Cornwell, who, although severely wounded, managed to stand up again and remain at his post for more than 15 minutes, until ''Chester'' retired from the action with only one main gun still working. ''Chester'' had received a total of 18 hits, but partial hull armour meant that the interior of the ship suffered little serious damage and the ship itself was never in peril of sinking. Nevertheless, the situation on deck was dire. Many of the gun crews had lost lower limbs due to splinters passing under the gun shields. British ships reported passing the ''Chester'' to cheers from limbless wounded gun crew laid out on her deck and smoking cigarettes, only to hear that the same crewmen had died a few hours later from blood loss and shock.
After the action, medics arrived on deck to find Cornwell the sole survivor standing at his gun, shards of steel penetrating his chest, looking at the
gun sight
A sight is an aiming device used to assist in visually aligning ranged weapons, surveying instruments or optical illumination equipments with the intended target. Sights can be a simple set or system of physical markers that have to be aligne ...
s and still waiting for orders. Being incapable of further action, ''Chester'' was ordered to the port of
Immingham. There Cornwell was transferred to Grimsby General Hospital, although he was clearly dying. He died shortly before 8:00am on the morning of 2 June 1916, before his mother could arrive at the hospital.
Victoria Cross
Three months later, Captain Robert Lawson of ''Chester'' described the events to the British Admiralty. Though at first reluctant, the Admiralty eventually decided to recommend Cornwell for a posthumous
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
and King
George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...
endorsed it. The recommendation for citation, from
Admiral David Beatty, reads:
The instance of devotion to duty by Boy (1st Class) John Travers Cornwell who was mortally wounded early in the action, but nevertheless remained standing alone at a most exposed post, quietly awaiting orders till the end of the action, with the gun's crew dead and wounded around him. He was under 16½ years old. I regret that he has since died, but I recommend his case for special recognition in justice to his memory and as an acknowledgement of the high example set by him.
Jack Cornwell was initially buried in a common grave (Square 126 Grave 323) in Manor Park Cemetery, London, although his body was exhumed on 29 July 1916 at which he was reburied with full military honours in the same cemetery (square 55 grave 13).
[cwgc.org]
CWGC Debt of Honour Register Cornwell's father Eli, who died on 25 October 1916 from
bronchitis
Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...
during home service with the
Royal Defence Corps The Royal Defence Corps was a corps of the British Army formed in 1916 and disbanded in 1936.
As part of the reorganisation of home defence forces by Field Marshal Sir John French, Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces, the Royal Defence Corps was crea ...
, was buried in the same grave on 31 October 1916.
[cwgc.org]
CWGC Debt of Honour Register. The epitaph to Jack Cornwell on his grave monument reads,
In May 2016, the family grave and war memorial, erected in 1920, was given
Grade II listed status, legally protecting it from unauthorised modification or removal.
The award of the Victoria Cross appeared in ''
The London Gazette
''The London Gazette'' is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are ...
'' on Friday 15 September 1916. The citation read:
The KING has been graciously pleased to approve the grant of the Victoria Cross to Boy, First Class, John Travers Cornwell, O.N.J.42563 (died 2 June 1916), for the conspicuous act of bravery specified below.
Mortally wounded early in the action, Boy, First Class, Jack Travers Cornwell remained standing alone at a most exposed post, quietly awaiting orders, until the end of the action, with the gun's crew dead and wounded all round him. His age was under sixteen and a half years.
On 16 November 1916, Cornwell's mother received the Victoria Cross from King George V at
Buckingham Palace.
Court painter
A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...
Frank O. Salisbury made a portrait of Cornwell, using his brother Ernest as a model, depicting him standing in his post. ''Boy Cornwell Memorial Fund'' was also established. After that, the rest of the family was effectively forgotten. After Eli Cornwell's death on 25 October 1916, his half-brother Arthur Frederick Cornwell was killed in action in France on 29 August 1918. The impoverished Alice Cornwell died at the age of 48 on 31 October 1919, at 745
Commercial Road
Commercial Road is a street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. It is long, running from Gardiner's Corner (previously the site of Gardiners department store, and now Aldgate East Underground station), throug ...
in Stepney, in rooms she was forced to take when her son's memorial fund refused financial aid. The two of her children remaining at home were granted £60 a year in a pension from the fund after Alice's death, but this proved insufficient and they both emigrated to Canada in the early 1920s. Jack Cornwell's elder half-sister, also named Alice, lent Jack's Victoria Cross to the
Imperial War Museum on 27 November 1968. Salisbury's portrait of Cornwell hangs in the
Anglican church within the Royal Navy's Initial Training Establishment
''HMS Raleigh''.
Remembrance
The original furore caused by his very public re-burial led to over seven million of the Empire's children donating to his fund. £18,000 was raised in his memory for the Jack Cornwell ward of the
Royal Star and Garter Home, Richmond. The John Cornwell Victoria Cross National Memorial (JCVCNM) was established in 1928, when a plot of land was purchased at
Hornchurch
Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed a l ...
, then in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
, with money raised by the Mayor of
East Ham. There, a community of cottage homes was built for needy, disabled or infirm former sailors and Royal Marines, up to and including the rank of
Warrant Officer
Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...
and their families. The six semi-detached houses and pathways are laid out in the form of a Victoria Cross. Since 2008, the community has been under the trusteeship of
The Royal Naval Benevolent Trust The Royal Naval Benevolent Trust (RNBT) is a charity registered established under Royal Charter in 1922 in the United Kingdom for the welfare of current and past naval personnel and their families.
It supports needy members of the "RNBT Family", t ...
.
Scouting
Sir
Robert Baden-Powell
Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the wor ...
, the founder of the
Scout movement
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpackin ...
, created an award in his honour, The
Cornwell Scout Badge,
which is still used by Scout associations throughout the
Commonwealth. It is awarded to youth members in respect of pre-eminently high character and devotion to duty, together with great courage and endurance.
Camp Cornwell, established in 1925 as the headquarters for Western Australian
Sea Scouts
Sea Scouts are a part of the Scout movement, with a particular emphasis on boating and other water-based activities on the sea, rivers or lakes (canoeing, rafting, scuba, sailboarding). Sea Scouts can provide a chance to sail, cruise on boats, ...
is situated at
Pelican Point on the
Swan River near
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
.
Cadets
Jack Cornwell is also remembered by the
Sea Cadet Corps,
Army Cadet Force
The Army Cadet Force (ACF), generally shortened to Army Cadets, is a national youth organisation sponsored by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence and the British Army. Along with the Sea Cadet Corps and the Air Training Corps, the ACF mak ...
and
Air Training Corps
The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer-military youth organisation. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. The majority of staff are volunteers, and some are paid for full-time work – including C ...
, who each have a unit based in the UK's first and only Tri-Service Cadet building, named The Cornwell VC Cadet Centre, on Vicarage Lane in
East Ham. Newham (Cornwell VC) Sea Cadets have been honoured with 'J T Cornwell VC' on their cap ribbon (Cap Tally) instead of the customary TS (training ship). They are the only Sea Cadet Unit in the UK to have this honour. In 2003, the Cadets suggested commemorating him by renaming a school in
Leyton
Leyton () is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the River L ...
after him; when Cornwell attended the school it was known as Farmer Road School, and it is now named
George Mitchell School, after another former pupil,
George Allan Mitchell, who won a VC in Italy during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
. Jack Cornwell is also remembered by Royal Navy
Combined Cadet Force divisions, such as the RN CCF section at
Whitgift School
("He who perseveres, conquers")
, established =
, closed =
, type = Independent school
, religious_affiliation = Church of England
, president =
, head_label = Head Master
, head = Christopher Ramsey
, c ...
, Croydon, which is named the "Cornwell" division in his honour.
In Canada,
Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps John Travers Cornwell, VC, based on
HMCS Chippawa in
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...
,
MB is named after him.
Other memorials
In
Little Ilford, Jack Cornwell Street and a nearby block of
council flats
Flat or flats may refer to:
Architecture
* Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries
Arts and entertainment
* Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch
* Flat (soldier), ...
called John Cornwell VC House are named in his memory. In Jack Cornwell Street there is a
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
named The Victoria Cross to commemorate his medal. A
blue plaque has been erected by the
London Borough of Waltham Forest on the flats that now occupy the site of his birthplace in Clyde Place, Leyton. The
5.5-inch gun on which he served is still displayed in the
Imperial War Museum, London.
In September 2006, Jack Cornwell VC featured on one of a series of
Royal Mail postage stamps marking the 150th anniversary of the Victoria Cross. In 2016, Jack Cornwell was featured on a £5 coin (issued in silver and gold) in a six-coin set commemorating the Centenary of the First World War produced by the
Royal Mint. Cornwell Close, on
Grimsby
Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of L ...
's
Nunsthorpe
Nunsthorpe (sometimes known locally as 'The Nunny', or by its nickname of Garden city movement, Garden City) is a suburb and housing estate in the western part of Great Grimsby, Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, England. It is situated between L ...
Estate and Cornwell Court in Haslemere Road,
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
are named after him.
Citadel High School of
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...
gives out the Jack Cornwell Award to a student in each graduating class to the student who most exemplifies the qualities of honour, loyalty and bravery.
Mount Cornwell (2,972 metres) is a peak in the
High Rock Range
The High Rock Range is a mountain range of the Canadian Rockies in southwestern Alberta and southeastern British Columbia, Canada.
It is a part of the Southern Continental Ranges and is located on the Continental Divide, north of the Crowsnest ...
in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, part of the
Canadian Rockies, which was named in his honour in 1918. There is also a
Mount Chester (3,054 metres) in
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, named after HMS ''Chester'' in 1917.
[Birrell, Dave (2000)]
''50 Roadside Panoramas in the Canadian Rockies''
Rocky Mountain Books, (pp. 135–6)
References
External links
Boy (1st Class) John ‘Jack’ Travers Cornwell VC- illustrated article from the
Imperial War Museum
John Travers Cornwell''(biography)''
''(E. London)''
* .
*
Photographs and items related to Jack Cornwell in the Imperial War Museums' collectionsFrank O. Salisbury's portraitof Cornwell
*
See also
*
My Boy Jack (poem)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornwell, John
British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross
Royal Navy sailors
Military personnel from Essex
Royal Navy personnel of World War I
British military personnel killed in World War I
1900 births
1916 deaths
The Scout Association
People associated with Scouting
People from Leyton
Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross
People from Manor Park, London
Child soldiers in World War I