The Only Naval VC
Heroism during the death of the Foylebank
Leading Seaman Jack Mantle.
80 Years On: Heroism Of Battle Of Britain’s Only WWII Naval Victoria Cross Winner
“Jack didn’t seem to be the heroic type,” his surprised mother Jeannie May said. "
He was a quiet, earnest boy.
He had an intense dislike of pain, and was always afraid of the dentist . . .”
In September 1940, The Daily Echo commemorated the death of Jack Mantle, whose family home had been in Shirley.
The action, which cost Jack Mantle his life, was described in the Victoria Cross citation, published in The London Gazette on 3 September 1940.
An inscription on Mt Mantle's gravestone states: "Because we did not choose to live and shame the country from which we sprung."
Seaman hero remembered at HMS Foylebank anniversary commemoration - BBC News