A VICTORIA Cross awarded to a boy sailor killed during World War One will go on display for the first time next month. Leyton-born John ‘Jack’ Cornwell was awarded the highest award for bravery after dying aged just 16 from injuries sustained during the 1916 Battle of Jutland in the North Sea. Despite being mortally wounded with shards of steel in his chest and dead colleagues lying around him, Jack struggled to his feet and remained at his post for 15 minutes, waiting for orders. He died two days later, before his mother Lily could reach him, and he was buried in Manor Park Cemetery. His body was later exhumed and re-buried in the same cemetery with full military honours. His epitaph reads: "It is not wealth or ancestry but honourable conduct and a noble disposition that maketh men great." On November 16, 1916, Cornwell's mother received the Victoria Cross from King George V at Buckingham Palace.

jane elder