Walton Road School
Encyclopedia
Jack Cornwell School was a school in the district of Little Ilford
Little Ilford
Little Ilford is a district of London, England in the London Borough of Newham and the name of a ward in that borough.-Locale:It is located near to Ilford in the London Borough of Redbridge...

, now within the London Borough of Newham
London Borough of Newham
The London Borough of Newham is a London borough formed from the towns of West Ham and East Ham, within East London.It is situated east of the City of London, and is north of the River Thames. According to 2006 estimates, Newham has one of the highest ethnic minority populations of all the...

, but formely in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

 that was notable for having among its alumni one of the youngest recipients of the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

, after whom the school was later renamed.

History

The school began life as the Bessborough Road board school built by the Little Ilford school board in 1900. The school was situated on Walton Road, Manor Park, and became called Walton Road School. Jack Cornwell, who won the Victoria Cross at the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...

, was a pupil at the school. On the 29th of July 1916, when Jack Cornwell’s body was exhumed and carried by gun carriage from East Ham Town Hall to Manor Park Cemetery, boys from Walton Road School joined the procession. At the school scholars and staff erected a plaque in his memory which was unveiled by Lady Jellicoe, wife of First Sea Lord Admiral J. Jellicoe.

In 1929 the school was renamed the Jack Cornwell School and was reorganised for senior boys, senior girls, and infants. After the Second World War, in 1945 the school was again reorganised for secondary boys and junior mixed, and finally in 1957 for secondary boys only. However, the school only lasted another twelve years and was demolished in 1969.

Notable former pupils

  • Jack Cornwell, - the third youngest ever recipient of the Victoria Cross
    Victoria Cross
    The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK