Flight-Lieutenant John Grant Cooke, 566928/ 46790, was born 8 September 1917 in Banbury, Oxfordshire, and joined up as apprentice "Fitter-Rigger Grade II" at Halton in January 1934. He was posted to No 215 Squadron, Driffield and later to 26 (AC) Squadron at Catterick, where he and George Barker used to run dances in local village halls - George ran the band and John at the door took the entrance money. Unlike with George, his colour-vision was OK, so as with many others he doubled up his fitter duties as Air Gunner. During the last sortie on the advancing German army whilst the the ground crew was hastily departing from 26's last landing field somewhere near Belgium his Lizzie was shot down - most got back to land in England - and he had an adventurous journey to Nantes, from where he managed to sail home, complete with some shrapnel in his back from a German bomb encountered on his way to the port.
The Squadron settled in at RAF West Malling for a while, repairing the damage to their Lizzies during their last sortie - the first in contact with the enemy after several months of reccying and photographing part of the Maginot Line - these pictures came in useful later on in the War. Most ot those that came back were full of bullet holes like gigantic pepper pots and one had its top rudder hinge shot away and the rudder was held on by the control wires. The squadron was later re-equipped with Mustangs. West Malling was near Maidstone and we met there, inter alia, a certain charming and delightful Marie Tibesart - her father was from Luxemburg. She and John fell in love and married there and then. |
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He went to Bomber Command and flew on many raids, being commissioned in October 1941 and becoming Flt/Lt Gunnery Leader in 35 Squadron (Pathfinders) in October 1943. Sadly he was killed in action on 5 July 1944. He and Marie had no children, so he has no descendants. He is shown when he was a corporal fitter-rigger air gunner on the right in the picture below with George, the 26 Squadron carpenter at the back and an LAC fitter.
