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Standing Alone
Jack Cornwell was only 15 when he enlisted in the navy without his father's permission. Fatally wounded in the Battle of Jutland, he was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for staying at his post on the HMS Chester. This book reveals the tragic true story of one of the youngest heroes of World War One.
- GenresWar
157 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2011
3 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Jim Eldridge
158 books154 followersJim Eldridge is the author of many books for children, including titles in the My Story series, the Warpath books, and How to Handle Grown-Ups. He has had 250 TV scripts broadcast in the UK and internationally for children's and teen television, and is also the creator and writer of Radio 4's long-running comedy-drama series, King Street Junior.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 20, 2015
This is part of a series of historical novels published by Scholastic. Each of the novels in the My Story and My Australian Story series is written in the form of the diary of a fictional young person living during important times or an event in history. The My True story books are based on the real life stories of some incredible young people. They are all easy to read and personalise history for young readers.
This book tells us is the true story of Jack Cornwell, who was only 16 years old when he joined the list of heroes of World War One. Jack had only been 15 when he enlisted in the navy, finding a way past the age restrictions, as did many of those who fought in the First World War. He was one of thousands of sailors who fought in the 1916 Battle of Jutland. This was the biggest sea battle of the First World War. Jack was badly wounded in this battle and died at Grimsby General Hospital, with splinters of steel in his chest, two days later. This book by Jim Eldridge personalizes the story and gives the reader some insight into Jack’s life and his thoughts and feelings as the events unfolded around him.
Jack was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for staying at his post on HMS Chester although seriously wounded.
At the end of the book there are 14 pages “written” by Jack’s brother George. In these pages he tells us about what happened to Jack and his family after he died. This also offers some sad insight into how the war changed everyone’s lives even after it was over. There are also a few pages that offer some more technical details about the ships in action at the Battle of Jutland.
This book tells us is the true story of Jack Cornwell, who was only 16 years old when he joined the list of heroes of World War One. Jack had only been 15 when he enlisted in the navy, finding a way past the age restrictions, as did many of those who fought in the First World War. He was one of thousands of sailors who fought in the 1916 Battle of Jutland. This was the biggest sea battle of the First World War. Jack was badly wounded in this battle and died at Grimsby General Hospital, with splinters of steel in his chest, two days later. This book by Jim Eldridge personalizes the story and gives the reader some insight into Jack’s life and his thoughts and feelings as the events unfolded around him.
Jack was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for staying at his post on HMS Chester although seriously wounded.
At the end of the book there are 14 pages “written” by Jack’s brother George. In these pages he tells us about what happened to Jack and his family after he died. This also offers some sad insight into how the war changed everyone’s lives even after it was over. There are also a few pages that offer some more technical details about the ships in action at the Battle of Jutland.
April 1, 2020
Honestly this was a reread of a childhood favorite series. The story was still pretty good but the writing style and messages are VERY simplistic but you do have to account for the fact it was written for kids
June 18, 2018
it was bad
August 19, 2018
I really enjoyed this book mainly as it’s a diary. You learn what it’s like in the life of someone in the war and I think it’s good as it’s got facts from the past.
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December 21, 2013another really interesting
so interesting I did some research online about him
so interesting I did some research online about him
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews