Scouts who won the Victoria Cross

At the beginning of November, during the Covid lockdown, Sid asked County Archivist Barry: since it'll be Armistice day soon, what did he know about Scouts who had won the Victoria Cross.

Barry sent Sid loads of documents and photos, and he and computer wizz Becca organised it all into this post, with details of:

The Victoria Cross
The most famous Scout awarded the VC, John Cornwell.
The Cornwell Scouting award named after him.
The Island Scouts who were awarded the Cornwell award.
Scouts who were awarded the Victoria Cross.
Victoria Cross holders associated with the Isle of Wight.

Becca asked me to add a note that the file download links in this post are redirected through a secondary hosting site (on Google Drive); although you should not have any issues due to this, files may also be obtained from our Facebook page.

The Victoria Cross

This is a Victoria Cross Medal, the highest UK military award for bravery.

Scouts who won the Victoria Cross

Many Scouts said that they were inspired to perform acts of bravery by the words of Robert Baden Powell, the founder of the Scouting Movement.

Queen Victoria had instructed the War Office to strike a new medal that would not recognise birth or class. The medal was meant to be a simple decoration that would be highly prized and eagerly sought after by those in the military services. To maintain its simplicity, Queen Victoria, under the guidance of Prince Albert, vetoed the suggestion that the award be called The Military Order of Victoria and instead suggested the name Victoria Cross. The original warrant stated that the Victoria Cross would only be awarded to officers and men who had served in the presence of the enemy and had performed some signal act of valour or devotion

The first ceremony was held on 26 June 1857 at which Queen Victoria invested 62 of the 111 Crimean recipients in a ceremony in Hyde Park, London.

Jack (John) Cornwell, VC

Probably the most famous Scout who was awarded the VC was John (usually called Jack) Cornwell.

His citation (the officially worded record of his actions) was published in the London Gazette on the 15th September 1916 and read as follows: The KING has been graciously pleased to approve the grant of the Victoria Cross to Boy, First Class, John Travers Cornwell, O.N.J.42563 (died 2 June 1916), for the conspicuous act of bravery specified below. Mortally wounded early in the action, Boy, First Class, Jack Travers Cornwell remained standing alone at a most exposed post, quietly awaiting orders, until the end of the action, with the gun's crew dead and wounded all round him. His age was under sixteen and a half years.

When a member of the armed forces dies, the service will pay for the grave and funeral. This would have certainly been offered for Jack and would have taken place in or near Grimsby. However, it appears that Lily Cornwell, his mother, wanted a private funeral and arranged for his body to be brought back to London where it was buried in a common, shared, grave in Manor Park Cemetery.

Jack’s Captain speculated that maybe due to her grief Lily hadn’t understood that the Navy would pay for a grave and funeral but it may be that she wanted her boy close to home or couldn’t face the formality of the military service. However her grief was not allowed to remain private for long.

The story of Jack’s bravery captured the public imagination; it had been briefly mentioned in Vice Admiral Beatty’s report of the Battle. With the second year of the War drawing to a close, stalemate on the Western Front and the news from Jutland not as overwhelming positive as might have been expected the British public were looking for hero.

As Beatty’s report was published the act of this ordinary boy became headline news. Campaigns began to have Jack’s bravery properly commemorated; there was outrage that this national hero did not have his own grave.

On the 29 July 1916 Jack was reburied with full military honours in a private grave at Manor Park Cemetery, London. The funeral was preceded by a spectacular procession with hundreds of Scouts lining the route and members of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve pulling the gun carriage on which rested the coffin.

An elaborate monument was erected over Jack Cornwell’s grave. By the end of 1916 his Father was buried here and his Mother in 1919. This image was taken in 1934.Read more about Jack's funeral here.

BP was so inspired by the story of John that he instigated an award, The Cornwell award for outstanding bravery of a Scout.

An addendum to this story (25/3/2024). I visited the Imperial War Museum in London. One of their displays was of people who displayed conspicuous gallantry, i.e. mainly Victoria Cross and George Cross holders. In the furthest corner of the gallery was a small display to Jack Cornwell. Other than actually displaying his medals, I feel that this is a lost opportunity for Scouting History, and for the IWM to appeal to millions of ex-Scouts. (I asked a young Canadian family if their son was a Scout - apparently he had friends who are - and I told them a little about Jack. They said that they would pass the story to his friends). I have sent an email to the IWM, I wonder what they will say!

The Cornwell Award

This exceptional award, reserved exclusively for Scouts under 20 years of age, is given in respect of per-eminently high character and devotion to duty, together with great courage and endurance.

The badge - it is not a medal - is of bronze and features the letter 'C' surrounding the Scout Badge. It may be worn by the holder after reaching the age of 20.

The Isle of Wight Recipients of the Cornwell Award

The Island has had three Cornwell Scout Badge Awards between 1935 and 1959. There have also been one Cornwell Scout Certificate, a lower grade (now discontinued). This was awarded in 1946. Every young person’s case was different but typically, a recipient would be aged about 11, and will have encountered or already joined Scouting with some crippling disease. This would have meant enduring hospitalisation over several years. There would have been some respite recovery and all this time the Scout would have carried on with badge work keeping in touch with his peers and Leaders with a cheery smile and generally being an example for all other young Scouts to follow. The old eighth Scout Law – “A Scout smiles and whistles under all difficulties”.

List of Isle of Wight Cornwell Badge Award or Certificate holders.

Edwin Grose 2^nd Sandown October 1935 Cornwell Badge Read more
David Byers 2^nd Totland May 1936 Cornwell Certificate
Michael Crabb 1^st Ryde April 1948 Cornwell Badge Read more
Alistair Wakeley 1^st Binstead (7^th Ryde) February 1959 Cornwell Badge Read more

List of all Isle of Wight Scouting award recipients

There have been other Scouts who have had Scouting Bravery Awards. Find out more information about all Scout bravery award winners here.

Index of the 23 World War 1 and 26 World War 2 Scout VCs

* Denotes awarded posthumously You can read further information here

WW1 - 1914-1918

Lieutenant Tom Edwin Adlam . Scoutmaster Sandy C of E School Bedfordshire
Lieut. Col. William Herbert Anderson. Scoutmaster - Troop 51 Ayrshire
Temp.Captain Albert BALL. Scout in Nottingham
*2nd Lt. Stanley Henry Parry BOUGHEY. Scout in Blackpool District
*2nd Lt. George Edward CATES. Assistant Scoutmaster 2nd Wimbledon Troop (YMCA)
*B Sergeant Harry CATOR. Scoutmaster, Drayton, Norwich
Private George William Chafer. Scoutmaster 20^th Rotherham (Bramley & Sunnyside) Scout Troop
Boy (1st class) John Travers CORNWELL. Scout (St. Mary's Mission) Manor Park Troop
2nd Lt. John Manson CRAIG. Scout with 5th Perthshire Troop
L/Cpl. Robert Edward CRUICKSHANK. Scoutmaster with 53rd North London Troop
Lt. Donald John DEAN. Scout with 1st Sittingbourne Troop
Lt. Col. John Henry Stephen DIMMER. Scout Worker Southend
Lt. Reginald Leonard HAINE. Patrol Leader with Petersham Troop
*Lt. Robert Price HALLOWES. Scout Instructor with St. Peter's Troop, Port Talbot
Rev. Theodore Bayley HARDY. Scoutmaster of various Parish Groups, Exeter, Devon
Corporal George Jarratt . Instructor/ Scoutmaster London
Sergeant William Henry JOHNSON. 2^nd Worksop
Piper Daniel LAIDLAW. Assistant Scoutmaster 1st Alnwick Troop
Lt. George Burdon MCKEAN. Scoutmaster Robertson Troop, Alberta, Canada
Captain, the Rev. Noel Edwards MELLISH. Scoutmaster at various Parish Groups, Barnet, Hertfordshire
Captain John Fox Russell. Patrol Leader 1^st Wolf Patrol, Holyhead Scout Troop, Anglesey, Wales
Major Alfred Maurice TOYE. Patrol Leader with 2nd Aldershot Troop
Private Alfred Robert Wilkinson. Scout 9^th Leigh (St. Joseph’s) Scout Troop

WW2 -1939-1945

*A/Cpt. Michael ALLMAND. Rover Scout, Ampleforth College
Pilot Officer Cyril J. BARTON. RAFVR. Scout with 1st Oxshott Group
Lt. Donald CAMERON. RNR. Scout with 3rd Glasgow Troop
Flying Officer Kenneth CAMPBELL RAFVR. Ayrshire Group not found
T/Lt. Col. Lorne Maclean CAMPBELL DSO, TD. District Commissioner Guildford
Lieutenant Albert CHOWNE. Scout in Willoughby, Sydney, Australia
Flying Officer John A. CRUICKSHANK RAFVR. Patrol Leader with 4th Edinburgh (Greenbank)
Lieutenant Arthur Roden CUTLER. Leader 2nd Manly Troop, NSW, Australia
*Sgt. Thomas Frank DURRANT RE. Patrol Leader with 1st Green St. Green Group, Kent
Sgt. Keith ELLIOTT NZMF. Scout with Fielding Troop, New Zealand
Hon. Capt. John Weir FOOTE. Scout with Madoc Troop, Ontario, Canada
*Lt. The Hon. Christopher FURNESS . Scout with 3rd Eton College Group
A/Wg Cmdr G. GIBSON DSC, DFC RAF. Scout with 28th Oxford Group and Hon. Rover Scout 1st Tovil (Maidstone, Kent) Troop
*T/Major Charles Ferguson HOEY, MC. Scout with 1st Quamichan Troop, British Colombia, Canada
Sgt. Alfred Clive HULME NZMF. Scout with Lower Hutt Group, Wellington, New Zealand
*Lt. Karamjit Singh JUDGE. 1st Randhir High School (Punjab) Troop
*T/Lt. Col. C.C.T. KEYES RAC. 3rd Eton College
*Sgt. William Henry KIBBY AMF. 2nd Glenelg Sea Scouts, S. Australia
*Lt. George Arthur KNOWLAND. Scout 8th Croydon (Christ Church)
*A/Ldg. Seaman Jack Forman MANTLE Royal Navy. Scout with 6th Southampton (St. Pauls) Troop
Lt. Col. C.C.I. MERRITT. Scout 6th Vancouver, Canada
Pte. George Allen MITCHELL. Scout in Leyton
T/.Major H.W. LE PATOUREL. 15th Guernsey (Elizabeth College)
*Sgt. Maurice A. Wyndham ROGERS. Patrol Leader St. Jonh's Scout Troop, Bethnal Green
* Capt. Edwin SWALES. Scout with 4^th Durban Scout Group, South Africa
*Sgt. James Allen WARD. Scouter New Zealand

VCs associated with the Isle of Wight

Barry has also collated details of those awarded the Victoria Cross with associations to the Isle of Wight. The document is in 2 parts which can be downloaded here and here.

Thanks very much for this Barry.