Title:
JT Cornwell VC and the Scouts' 'Badge of Courage'
Edition:
First
Author:
Colin Walker
ISBN:
1905546076
Publishers:
Write Books CPR Ltd
Price
£7.99
Publication
Date: 2006
This is a small, interesting book which measures 8"x 5.5"
concerning JT Cornwell VC, which is as it states, ‘An illustrated account of JT
Cornwell VC documenting his roots in East London, Scouting history and his
Naval training prior to the Battle of Jutland where he was fatally
wounded. The
book is in A5 format and has an ISBN number.
It contains 75 pages of text and illustrations excluding preface,
acknowledgements, sources printed and internet. The book has been written from a Scout History perspective with
full details of the Cornwell Award inspired by Jack Cornwell. ‘Jack’ as he was known, was born at
Clyde Cottage, Clyde Place, Leyton, Essex.
The house and street no longer exists, however a blue plaque is now in
place as near as possible to its location.
My review copy is a first
edition and I have been issued with an errata sheet, which corrects a number of
errors. However it states in one
correction, "Jack did not serve on HMS Lancaster despite the photographs of him
wearing a cap with the Lancaster tally band".
One does not serve on a ship but in it and to my knowledge we always
called them cap tallies. The author does point out
that the book has very small print runs of a hundred at a time, which means
that errors are being corrected each time.
The problem with this is that the book is priced at £7.99 plus £1 p&p
which seems rather a lot for a book that is being constantly amended. The book tells us the truth
of what happened regarding his burial.
Initially he was buried in a common grave – a mistake which was
rectified. Fortunately Jack’s body was
the last to be interred in this common grave, so it could be exhumed without
disturbance to the other coffins. His second and hero’s burial
was at Manor Park on Saturday 29th July 1916. It is marked by a marble memorial which
reads:- In Memoriam First Class Boy JOHN TRAVERS CORNWELL, VC.
Born 8th January 1900 Died of wounds received at The Battle of Jutland 2nd June
1916 This Stone was erected by Scholars and ex-Scholars of Schools in
East Ham 'It is not wealth or ancestry but honourable conduct and a noble
disposition that makes men great'. D.M. Jack’s
funeral was most impressive. The cortege was followed by state and civic
dignitaries, plus six Boy Seamen carrying wreaths from the ship's company of
HMS Chester. His mother and father were
later buried with him. Albeit a small book, it does
cover all aspects of Jack’s life and subsequent events eg the Battle of
Jutland, the first grave and a hero’s burial, the Victoria Cross, the Scouts
Bronze Cross, the Cornwell Award, Cornwell Remembered, Jack’s schools,
commemorative cigarette cards, postcards, stamps, medals and buildings which
all show the interest he aroused. Also covered is the award of
a VC to Leading Seaman Jack F Mantle P/JX139070. His official number tells us a story. P/J means he joined as a Junior Rating at Portsmouth - in fact my official number was P/J. It will be interesting to
know if he trained at HMS St Vincent because it seems that Gosport has a Mantle
Close named for him. It is very near to
Cornwell Close. (Apparently Mantle
Close is one of the least expensive roads in Gosport. Since a VC medal is made of humble metal it seems
appropriate. All in all a well-presented
little book, which should appeal to all Scouts and ex-Naval personnel of my
generation. It should also be read by
others, lest we forget the sacrifice made by so many Boy Seamen of whom Jack
Cornwell was a representative. I am
sure he would have liked to be remembered that way and not as a lone hero. For FULL details see http://www.scouting.milestones.btinternet.co.uk/cornwell.htm Rob Jerrard