With the outbreak of WW1 and with several family members already serving on the front lines, young John T. Cornwell quit his job a delivery boy and decided to enlist in the British Navy without his father's consent; at the age of 15.
After completing training, he was assigned to the HMS Chester.
On May 31, 1916, during the Battle of Jutland, Cornwell was serving as a sight-setter on one of the main deck guns until his position was hit 4 times by a German Battleship.
Cornwell was responsible for relaying the orders of the gunnery control officer to the gun’s crew and for adjusting the brass sight-setting disc on the gun. His work required intense concentration and meant he had to stand outside the protective gun shield, leaving him exposed to danger.
With all of the gun crews now either killed or wounded, Cornwell remained at his post, waiting for orders despite being under fire by and wounded.
The HMS Chester evacuated the area after being severly damaged. 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, ship medics arrived on deck to find Cornwell the sole survivor at his gun, shards of steel penetrating his chest, looking at the gun sights and still waiting for orders.
He passed away from his injuries two days later.
At the age of 16, he became the 3rd youngest recipient of the Victoria Cross.
"It is not wealth or ancestry but honourable conduct and a noble disposition that maketh men great." #ww1 #hardfuck #stayzero #zerofoxtrot