BEDRIDDEN BOY

Waipa Post, Volume 48, Issue 3467, 17 May 1934, Page 6

BEDRIDDEN BOY

SCOUTS’ V.C. PRESENTED. Lying in bed in Lewisham Hospital one day last month, John Hunt, an Eltham (England) boy scout, was decorated with the coveted Cornwell Badge, which is regarded as the Y.C. of the Scout movement. John has undergone 17 opera- • tions in the last two years, and the badge, earned for exceptional courage shown in pain and suffering, was sent him by the Chief Scout, Lord Baden-Powell. Mr C. A. Featherstone, the Dis- . trict Commissioner for the Royal Eltham Scouts Association, made the presentation, while the surgeon, Dr. J. Taylor, stood at the foot of the bed, afterwards shawing hands with the young bedridden hero and saying, “Congratulations, John.” To the District Commissioner, Dr. Taylor said: “We are proud of him. He is an example to others.” John’s father and mother were present at the bedside ceremony. Although in hospital, the boy has not given up scouting, for every Saturday afternoon he receives instructions in bed from his old assistant scoutmaster, Mr W. Lunn.

Two years ago, at his first job after leaving school, John fell from i lorby and injured his knee. Com plications set in, but although the fight back to health is a long one be is making progress. The Cornwell badge was instituted in memory of Jack Cornwell. V.C., once a London boy scout, for his bravery in the Battle of Jutland, in which he was killed.