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Watch: the life of Jack Cornwell

Watch this animation for a short summary of Jack Cornwell's life.

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Why is Jack famous?

  • Jack Cornwell was a young sailor who died during the Battle of Jutland, the biggest sea battle of World War One.
  • He was awarded a Victoria Cross for his bravery in battle.
  • Jack was one of the youngest people to be awarded a Victoria Cross during World War One.
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Jack鈥檚 childhood

An image of Jack Cornwell
Image caption,
Fun fact: the person in the picture is not actually Jack. Jack's brother was used instead for portraits of Jack.
  • Jack, was born in Essex, in January 1900.

  • He was one of six children.

  • His father worked as a soldier, a milkman and a tram driver.

  • When Jack was 13 he left school to become a delivery boy, where he worked on vans delivering goods for a tea company.

  • He became a scout and loved outdoor adventures.

An image of Jack Cornwell
Image caption,
Fun fact: the person in the picture is not actually Jack. Jack's brother was used instead for portraits of Jack.
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Joining the Navy

An image of Jack Cornwell helping out during the Battle of Jutland
Image caption,
A painting of Jack Cornwell manning a Navy gun during a battle out at sea.
  • In August 1914 the war began.

  • Jack applied to the Navy. He was turned away because he was too young.

  • In July 1915 he tried again without his parents鈥 permission.

  • This time Jack was accepted into the Navy.

  • He learned how to aim the guns at a target, and how to obey orders.

An image of Jack Cornwell helping out during the Battle of Jutland
Image caption,
A painting of Jack Cornwell manning a Navy gun during a battle out at sea.
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The Battle of Jutland

An image of the HMS Chester
  • After completing his training, Jack joined the crew of HMS Chester on 2 May 1916.

  • On 31 May 1916 British sailors spotted German ships off Jutland in Denmark, so the guns opened fire.

An image of the HMS Chester
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What happened to Jack?

Sailors on a German destroyer attempting to repair the damage on the ship
Image caption,
This illustration shows sailors on a German destroyer attempting to repair the damage on their ship, demonstrating how violent the Battle of Jutland was.
  • Four German ships fired at Jack鈥檚 ship.

  • All of Jack鈥檚 gun-crew were killed or badly wounded.

  • Only Jack was left standing.

  • Although he was in pain and with shells still hitting the ship, he stayed by his gun waiting for orders.

  • When rescuers found him, he was alive but badly wounded by flying splinters of metal.

  • His ship got back home and Jack was taken to hospital.

  • He died on 2nd June 1916.

Sailors on a German destroyer attempting to repair the damage on the ship
Image caption,
This illustration shows sailors on a German destroyer attempting to repair the damage on their ship, demonstrating how violent the Battle of Jutland was.
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How do we remember Jack?

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 4, Daily Mirror front page article about Jack Cornwell, Jack's life story was spread across newspapers and books The story of Jack's death circulated across multiple sources, as seen with the Daily Mirror article above, and it generated a lot of public interest during the First World War.
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Activities

Activity 1: Quiz 鈥 Life of Jack Cornwell

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Activity 2: History Explorer game

Play this game to test your knowledge and learn even more facts about World War One.

History Explorer: Secrets through time

History Explorer: Secrets through time: KS2 History

History Explorer: Secrets through time
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Bitesize Primary games. game

Play fun and educational primary games in science, maths, English, history, geography, art, computing and modern languages.

Bitesize Primary games
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