Cornwall was the son of Alan Whitmore Cornwall, who was archdeacon of Cheltenham from 1924 to[REF] 1932.
Cornwall worked in England for four years, first at Cuddesdon Theological College in 1926-27, then as deacon in the Diocese of Durham also in 1927, as curate of St Columba's, Southwick, Sunderland in 1927-30, and as a priest in Durham in 1928.