Filmmakers from Falmouth University were inspired to make a film about a local man's heroic uncle Henry Jennings.

The film, Cornish Tommies, chronicles the St Agnes WWI hero's life and stars students from Truro and Bodmin Colleges.

Joseph Sawle of Longfield in Falmouth, now in his 90th year, only found out about his uncle's bravery when his brother Martin researched the family's history and wrote a book about Henry around 15 years ago.

Joseph said: "I didn't think it would mean so much. I didn't know what that war was like until my brother wrote the book. We didn't realise a man as modest as he was could go through that and survive."

 

Joseph Sawle with a picture of his uncle Henry Jennings

Henry Jennings was born on March 7 1899, the son of a tin miner who was killed in an underground explosion at West Kitty Mine.

At 13, just three years after his father's death, Henry starting working at the mine himself to support his mum and four siblings before being drafted into the army at the age of 17.

On the battlefields of northern France, he was shot three times by enemy rifle bullets and carried on fighting for half an hour before his Lewis Gun was hit and rendered unusable.

Company Sergeant Major F Mount recommended that his bravery be formally recognised and he was later awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

 

Henry Jennings with his platoon

An excerpt from Martin's book reads: "I wonder how he coped sharing a billet with strangers. How did a country lad from the Cornish seaside relate to his comrades from the Industrial North?

"What did he make of the trenches, inches deep in mud, the silent nightmare of patrols in no-mans-land, the screech of artillery shells, the fiery path of incendiary bullets and the screams of wounded and dying, friend and foe?

"No one will ever know, because, like all true heroes, 47768 Pte. Jennings J.H. never talked about the war and his part in it."

 

Joseph Sawle and brother Martin in their younger days. Joseph served in the RAF after WWII, but said that his time in the military was a "bed of roses" compared to his uncle's

Gemma Wearing, who directed the film, said: "The feedback's been amazing, it's been really well received. People have got really involved in it and I think it really pulls on people's heartstrings; there's been a lot of tears."

'Cornish Tommies' is screening for the next month in various locations across Cornwall.

For the full list of screenings, visit cfylm.co.uk/cornish-tommies/.