Cooke, William
Title
Cooke, William
William H Cooke
W H Cooke
Description
15 items. An oral history interview with William Cooke (2220169 Royal Air Force), log book and other service material, medals, photographs and memorabilia. He flew operations with 49 Squadron as an air gunner.
The collection has been licenced to the IBCC Digital Archive by and catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
The collection has been licenced to the IBCC Digital Archive by and catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Publisher
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Identifier
Cooke, WH
Collection Items
William H Cooke’s navigators, air bombers and air gunners flying log book
Navigators, air bombers and air gunners flying log book for W H Cooke, air gunner, covering the period from 3 November 1943 to 15 June 1945. Detailing his flying training and operations flown. He was stationed at RAF Bishops Court, RAF Upper Heyford,…
'On the Way'
Letter written by Bill from India to his parents telling them that he was coming home - leaving for Bombay tomorrow and should be home by March.
Christmas Dinner menu 1946
RAF Station Dum Dum's menu front and back cover. On the front a RAF badge and an image of the Victoria Memorial in Calcutta, the rear has image of the star and the three kings. The menu inside is illustrated and also has added signatures.
Christmas Dinner menu Sergeants Mess 1946
Christmas dinner menu from Sergeants Mess at RAF Station Dum Dum.
Der Bolschewismus droht
Rails against the marriage implementation regulations, which came into force on 1 April 1943. State has the right to decide whether marriage should be dissolved, and widow can then lose everything. It can apply if deceased has not yet filed for…
Flying Clothing Card
Bill Cooke's Flying Clothing Card, which lists all the equipment that he was issued with, complete with when items were returned, or explanations for losses (for example, 'lost in crash').
Service and Release Book
Bill Cooke's Service and Release document which covers his time in the service from 6 August 1943 to 17 March 1947.
Audio memoir
An audio account of an anti-aircraft gunner's service in Burma. Describes a B-24 crash landing near a small landing strip in Burma and discusses Spitfires burried in Burma.
'A Day at East Kirkby'
Poem by Bill Cooke prior to a visit to East Kirkby - contrasting the stress of operational flying on Lancasters to the forthcoming aircraft taxi ride.
Photograph of air gunner sergeant
Head and shoulders portrait of sergeant with air gunner brevet, studio background.
Two servicemen
One head and shoulders portrait of airman with Mae West, flying helmet and oxygen mask, studio background. Second is of individual in tropical uniform, with a building in the background.
William Cooke's decorations
Four mounted medals:
1939-1945 Star, including Bomber Command clasp;
Burma Star;
France and Germany Star;
War Medal 1939-1945
1939-1945 Star, including Bomber Command clasp;
Burma Star;
France and Germany Star;
War Medal 1939-1945
Interview with William Cooke
William Cooke joined the Royal Air Force at the age of 18, becoming a rear gunner on Lancasters. He followed his brother and sister into the RAF.
Tells of his spell of guard duty on board a troop ship, and losing one of the people he was showing…
Tells of his spell of guard duty on board a troop ship, and losing one of the people he was showing…
Collection Tree
- Cooke, William