Jack Mantle was Southampton’s only Victoria Cross awardee in World War Two. He was awarded the medal posthumously after courageously manning an anti-aircraft gun on HMS Foylebank when it was being attacked by German bombers in Portland Harbour in July 1940. Jack was born in April 1917 and lived at Malvern Road, Shirley, attending Taunton’s School. He joined the Royal Navy at age 16 and rose to the rank of Acting Leading Seaman. His parents John and Jeannie were presented with the medal by the King at Buckingham Palace in 1941. Jack was buried at the naval cemetery in Portland.
Mantle, Jack
Photograph, c.1940
Clippings:
Southampton's VC - (Southern Daily Echo 04/09/1940)
Further reading:
‘Hampshire VC Awarded for an Action In Dorset’, by Alan Cairns, in Hampshire Life, No. 1, October 1998, p19. (H/y)
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