Jack Cornwell

He stood by his gun, gravely wounded, as his shipmates fell.

John Travers Cornwell, known as Jack, was born at Leyton on 8 January 1900. The son of a tram driver and former soldier, he attended local schools and joined the Boy Scouts. Before entering the Navy he worked as a delivery boy. His determination to go to sea led to attempts to enlist while still under age.

He entered naval training in July 1915 as a boy second class at Devonport. After completing gunnery instruction, he advanced to boy first class in January 1916. In May he joined the new light cruiser Chester as sight setter for her forward 5.5-inch gun. His task was to receive and apply the aiming information needed to direct the weapon.

On 31 May 1916 Chester encountered German cruisers during the Battle of Jutland and suffered heavy shellfire. Cornwell's gun position was struck, leaving the other members of its crew dead or wounded. Although he too was gravely injured, he remained standing at his post, waiting for orders that might allow him to continue serving the gun.

The surviving account of his conduct emphasized his quiet determination amid the destruction around him. He was sixteen, with only a few weeks aboard the ship, yet remained at his station after the gun crew had been disabled. Evacuated following the battle, he died in hospital at Grimsby on 2 June.

Cornwell received the Victoria Cross posthumously, and his mother accepted it from George V in November 1916. His first burial in a common grave was followed by reburial with naval honours at Manor Park Cemetery in July. He had no later career or adult life. His short service became one of the most widely remembered individual stories of the battle, particularly among young sailors and Scouts.