John Frederick Cornes (1910 - 2001)

Born 23 Mar 1910 in Darjeeling, Bengal, India

Husband of Rachael Forrester (Addis) Cornes — married 12 Jun 1937 in Frant Church, Uckfield, Sussex, England

Descendants

Died 19 Jun 2001 at age 91 in Winchester, Hampshire, England

Biography

JOHN FREDERICK CORNES ^[1] (Cornes-24)

PARENTS. Julian Cornes & Lilian Amy (Marshall) Cornes

BIRTH. 23 Mar 1910, Darjeeling, Bengal, India

CHRISTENING. 22 May 1910

Name John Frederick Cornes

Gender Male

Christening Date 22 May 1910

Christening Place Darjeeling, Bengal, India

Birth Date 23 Mar 1910

Father's Name Julian Cornes

Mother's Name Lilian Amy

MARRIAGE. 12 Jun 1937, Frant Church, Uckfield, Sussex, England

MARRIAGE. 12 Jun 1937, Rachael Forrester Addis, daughter of Charles Stewart Addis & Elizabeth Jane (McIsaac) Addis

MARRIAGE. 1937

Name Rachel F Addis

Event Type Marriage Registration

Registration Quarter Apr-May-Jun

Registration Year 1937

Registration District Uckfield

County Sussex

Event Place Uckfield, Sussex, England

Spouse Name (available after 1911) Cornes

Volume 2B, Page 295, Line Number 45

Rachel F Addis probably married one of the following people

Name John F Cornes

WEDDING REPORT. FASHIONABLE WEDDING AT FRANT MISS r;. F. ADDIS MARRIED TO MR. J. F CORNES. A fashionable wedding of considerable local interest took place at Frant Church Saturday, when Miss Rachel Forrester Addis, daughter of Sir Charles Addis, K.C.M.G., and Lady Addis, of Woodslde, Frant . . .

Children:

(1) Nicholas George Marshall Cornes, b. 28 May 1940, m. 1967, Khin Thida Bwa, daughter of ??

(2) Colin Noel Cornes, b. 27 Sep 1942, m. 1967, Patricia Anora de Freitas, daughter of ??

(3) John Addis Cornes, b. 16 Aug 1944

(4) Andrew Charles Julian Cornes, b. 24 Feb 1949, m. 1985, Katherine Elizabeth Montgomery, daughter of ??

John Frederick Cornes West Downs School Limited Position: Company Director Date of Appointment: March 27, 1992

John Frederick Cornes was the company director of West Downs School Limited. He started there in 1992 at 82 years of age. He is now likely retired as there is no record of his involvment with an active company.^[2]

John Frederick "Jerry" Cornes (23 March 1910 – 19 June 2001) was an English middle distance runner, colonial officer, and schoolmaster.

He was born in Darjeeling, British India.

DEATH. 19 Jun 2001, Winchester, Hampshire, England

DEATH. 2001

Name John Frederick Cornes

Event Type Death Registration

Registration Quarter Apr-May-Jun

Registration Year 2001

Registration District Winchester

County Hampshire

Event Place Winchester, Hampshire, England

Birth Date (available after June quarter 1969) 23 Mar 1910

Volume 5021A, Page A53D

OBITUARY. Jerry Cornes 12:00AM BST 25 Jun 2001 JERRY CORNES, who has died aged 91, followed up a career in the Colonial Service by becoming headmaster of West Downs Preparatory School; in youth, however, he had been more widely known as a superb middle-distance runner, the winner of an Olympic silver medal in a world still undarkened by professionalism. Cornes's athletic prowess began to attract notice at Oxford, not that he allowed training to exclude other university pursuits. He played a full part in the life of his college, Corpus Christi, and enjoyed the distinction of being rusticated for pelting the dons on the college's high table with a bread roll. In the Oxford University Sports of 1930, the mile was won in a time of 4 min 28 sec. Cornes came third, but realised that he could have done rather better. Competing a fortnight later in the Varsity match, he won the mile in 4 min 22.6 sec. Four months afterwards, Cornes found himself representing the British Empire against the United States at Chicago. Running with an Australian, a Canadian and another Briton (Reg Thomas) in the 4 x one mile relay, he helped to set a new world record of 17 min 2.4 sec. The next year, 1931, representing Great Britain against Germany, he was a member of a relay team which established another world record by recording a time of 15 min 55.6 sec in the 4 x 1,500 metres. Cornes gave the appearance of running with great ease. He liked to turn on the pressure in the third lap, so that the opposition had nothing left at the finish.

In 1932, when he was President of Athletics at Oxford, he won the Varsity cross-country race, beating the previous record by almost a minute, and also triumphed against Cambridge in both the mile and half-mile. In a typically generous gesture he paused at the end of the mile to allow Jack Lovelock, a New Zealander who was second string in the Oxford team, to dead heat with him and thus gain a Blue. Later that year Cornes went out to Los Angeles to compete in the Olympics. As he came into the home straight in the last lap of the 1,500 metres final, he felt he had the race in the bag. The crowd rose, as he thought, in his honour; in fact, though, they were cheering another runner, an unknown Italian called Luigi Beccalli. By the time that Cornes apprehended the danger, it was too late. The disappointment nagged him for the rest of his life. "I did not represent the United Kingdom to collect silver," he said. After Oxford Cornes went into the Colonial Service, though he still managed to run when on leave, and in 1934 finished third behind Lovelock and Sydney Wooderson in the Empire Games mile at the White City. He took a nine-month sabbatical from the Colonial Office to train for the Berlin Olympics of 1936. In the final of the 1,500 metres, Lovelock ran the race of his life to carry off the gold. Cornes returned the fastest time of his life for the distance (3 min 51.4 sec), but this only sufficed to gain him sixth place. John Frederick Cornes (always known as Jerry) was born on March 23 1910 at Darjeeling, the son of a judge in the Indian Civil Service; he had a twin sister and a younger brother. Partly due to the First World War, after the age of three he spent his childhood away from his parents with relations and friends in England. Sent to school at Clifton, he excelled at work, games (especially cricket) and athletics. Having left Oxford with a Second in Modern History he chose the Colonial Service in preference to the family firm of Cornes & Co of London, Kobe & Yokohama. In 1932 he was sent to northern Nigeria where he rode from village to village collecting taxes and assessing incomes. In 1937, Cornes was transferred to Palestine, where as terrorism began to increase during the Second World War, he took to sleeping with a pistol under his pillow. He was lucky to escape with his life when the King David Hotel was blown up in June 1946, having just left the hotel to investigate the effect of diversionary bombs in front of the building. Shortly afterwards Cornes returned to Britain. With his young family growing up, he refused further postings abroad, and found an agreeable job as supervisor of the Colonial Services courses at Oxford. This involved helping visitors from overseas to acclimatise to life in Britain; to this end he ran a hostel, the Colonial Services Club, and founded a cricket club, the Hartebeestes. He also enjoyed dining rights at Corpus Christi's high table, formerly the target of his bread missile. In 1953 he left the Colonial Office, and the next year, after teaching for a couple of terms at the Dragon School, bought West Downs preparatory school at Winchester. West Downs was then a highly traditional boarding school for about 100 boys. Cornes proved a breath of fresh air, encouraging all kinds of new activities, including film shows, musical productions, pets and computers. There were visits to plays and concerts - but also to a telephone exchange, a butterfly farm, and a chocolate factory. Games players were encouraged, but so were non-games players, and even school haters. And while horizons were being widened under Cornes's liberal regime, the Common Entrance and scholarship record became one of the best in the country. In the 1970s the demand for boarding places began to decrease; and although Cornes's decision to introduce day boys, and day girls, meant that the number of pupils reached a peak of 165 in 1978, he was unable to make the school permanently viable. When he retired in 1988, West Downs closed. Six years later the site was sold to King Alfred's College, now part of Southampton University. Jerry Cornes married, in 1937, Rachael (Ray) Addis, youngest daughter of Sir Charles Addis, formerly chairman of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank. They had four sons. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1310156/Jerry-Cornes.html

Henrietta Alice BULL, of Rivermead, Hampton Wick, b. 25 Sep 1846, bapt Oct 1846 at Christ Church, Turnham Green, m. 7 Apr 1870 at St. John’s, Southwick Crescent, Hyde Park, Frederick Cornes, founder of Cornes & Co., Japan, b. 24 Mar 1837 at Macclesfield, son of John Cornes and his wife Ellen (née Wilshaw). He d. 7 Sep 1927 and she d. 24 May 1928 having had issue: a. Herbert Frederick, barrister-at-law, Manager, Cornes & Co. 1889-99, of Gladwyns, Totteridge Lane, Totteridge, Hertfordshire, b. 30 Jan 1871, d. unmarried 2 May 1945. b. Archibald John, partner in the firm of Cornes & Co., Japan 1901-49, b. 11 Feb 1873, m. 7 Oct 1907 at Biarritz, Marie Davidson, dau of Lieutenant Colonel Augustus Bolle de Lasalle and d. 8 Dec 1969 having had issue: 1. Robert Cecil John, b. 18 Nov 1909 at Yokohama, m. 1946, Margaret Annabelle Ridge and has issue: 2 sons and 2 daus. c. Julian, J.P., M.A., District and Sessions Judge in Bengal 1897-1919, partner in the firm of Cornes & Co., Japan 1921-49, of Layston House, Buntingford, Hertfordshire, b. 1 Feb 1874 at Teddington, educ Clifton, Corpus Christi College, Oxford, m. 25 Feb 1909 at St. Philip’s, Earls Court, Lilian Amy, youngest dau of William Julius Marshall, barrister-at-law, Colonel, West Suffolk Militia, of Gidea Hall, Romford, Essex. He d. 15 Mar 1953 at Buntingford and she d. 13 Sep 1975 at Winchester having had issue: 1. John Frederick (twin) (obituary), M.A., Colonial Service, Nigeria, Palestine, Headmaster, West Downs Preparatory School, Winchester 1954-88, b. 23 Mar 1910 at Darjeeling, educ Clifton, Corpus Christi College, Oxford, represented Great Britain in the 1,500m at the Olympic Games in 1932 (silver) and 1936, m. 12 Jun 1937 at Frant, Sussex, Rachael Forrester, dau of Sir Charles Stewart Addis, K.C.M.G., President, Institute of Bankers 1921-23, Director, Bank of England 1918-32, and his wife Eba, dau of James McIsaac and d. 19 Jun 2001 having had issue: 4 sons. 2. Noel Julian, Temporary Acting Lieutenant, R.N.V.R., Cornes & Co., of Half-Way Tree, Kingston, Jamaica, b. 22 Dec 1912 at Midnapur, educ Clifton, Corpus Christi College, Oxford, m. 12 Oct 1935 at Brentford, Augusta Mildred, dau of William Albany, professional sculler. He was killed in action without issue on 9 Jul 1942 while serving on H.M.S. Tern. 1. Elizabeth Helena (twin), b. 23 Mar 1910 at Darjeeling, m. 1935, Brigadier Michael Henry Hamilton Baily, D.S.O., The Guides, son of Algernon Christian Baily, author, and has issue: 2 sons. 2. Stella Maude Ellen, b. 12 Jul 1917 at Lastingham, Yorkshire, m. 14 Sep 1942 in London, Nachman, son of Simcha Ambache, an engineer, who made his home in Egypt. His sisters [Aura AMBACHE] married Chaim Herzog, President of Israel 1983-93, and [Suzy (Shoshanna) AMBACHE] Abba Eban, Israeli Foreign Minister 1966-74. They had issue: 2 sons and 1 dau. BULL FAMILY HISTORY: http://www.archerfamily.org.uk/family/bull.htm

Sources

1. ↑ John Frederick "Jerry" Cornes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Cornes
2. ↑ directors.findthecompany.co.uk/l/820504/John-Frederick-Cornes (web site no longer active)

• Christening: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FGWJ-32K

• Marriage: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV8X-3VYD

• Wedding Report: Kent & Sussex Courier Kent, England, 18 Jun 1937: http://bit.ly/20asPWI

• Death: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVZF-BVYN