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Cooper, James Francis

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Personal Information

Rank WO2
Forename(s) James Francis
Surname Cooper
Gender M
Age 29
Date of Death 04-09-1942
Next of Kin Son of Arthur and Mary Alice Cooper, of Beaupre, Province of Quebec, Canada.
COOPER JF

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Avro Lancaster I
Serial Number R5682
Markings QR-E

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Runnymede Memorial
Grave Reference Panel 102.
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 1
Panel Number 23

Enlistment Information

Service Number R/55387
Service Royal Canadian Air Force
Group 5
Squadron 61
Squadron Motto Per puram tonantes (Thundering through the clear air)
Trade Air Gunner
Country of Origin Canada

Other Memorials

Location The end of the Hooiweg, Alde Feanan, Warten, Friesland Province
Country the Netherlands
Memorial Type Stencilled information board
Memorial Text In de avond van vrijdag 4 september 1942 staan negen Lancaster bommenwerpers van 61 Squadron Royal Air Force op het vliegeld Syerston bij Nottingham gereed voor een luchtaanval op Bremen. Lancaster R5682.
Translation "On 4 September 1942, Lancasters of 61 Sqn RAF took part in a raid on Bremen. Lancaster R5682 was hit by flak and two engines caught fire. The aircraft was then shot down by a German nightfighter. Four crew bailed out and became POWs, the other 3 were killed."
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Miscellaneous Information

Aircraft recovery experts Leemans Special Works, aided by the Dutch Air Force and explosives experts, recovered R5682 from the river bed where it came to rest, using a cofferdam. It was believed that W/O Cooper could still be in position in his gun turret and although human remains were found, DNA testing showed beyond doubt that the remains were not those of W/O Cooper but instead some additional remains belonging to P/O Joslin. These were reunited in his existing grave. BBMF's Lancaster overflew the site on 3rd October 2017 to pay tribute to the lost airmen.
In fact, accoridng to testimony from the surviving airmen, James was the first to bale out of the aircraft when they were over the sea, so he was not with the aircraft when it crashed

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The National Archives

Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/577/42
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/577/41

Fellow Servicemen

Please note that this list gives all the losses aboard the quoted aircraft and occasionally these may have occurred on an earlier date when the aircraft was not itself lost. Please check the dates of death carefully.

Joslin P C V (P/O)
May E J (F/S)

Last Operation Information

Start Date 04-09-1942
End Date 05-09-1942
Takeoff Station Syerston
Day/Night Raid Night (29% moon)
Operation Bremen
Reason for Loss Hit by flak over Dutch Coast and then finished off by night fighter. Crashed near Wartena, Friesland. Probably a victim of Hptm Helmut Lent, StII/NJG2. F/S Joslin was able to give the crew members enough time to bail out and four were able to do so, all becoming PoW.

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Casualty Pack

IBCC is delighted to introduce a unique facility to link the Losses Database to the relevant RAF Casualty Pack on the National Archives website. This project is the result of on-going collaboration between IBCC, the MOD Records Office and National Archives, Kew. This document describes what Casualty Packs are, when they were created, the process of making them available to the public and then goes on to describe the process by which you can view the contents of the packs. Casualty Packs (CPs) were created by the RAF whenever there was serious injury or loss of life associated with operational activity within the RAF. This includes operational flying losses, enemy action due to air raids, road accidents either on station or even off-station if they involved RAF vehicles. Deaths due to natural causes in service or accidents that did not involve RAF vehicles did not generally give rise to a CP.

CPs were originally given a unique reference number by the RAF. Each begins with the letter ‘P’ and is followed by six digits, then an oblique (forward slash) and the finally the year in which the incident took place- for example P396154/42.

The CPs are in the process of being made available to the general public as they are passed from the MOD Records Office, Portsmouth to National Archives, Kew. This process requires some rework to the files which is very time consuming, so the process of making them all available to National Archives will take several years. They are being made available in increasing date order.

Once CPs arrive at National Archives they are assigned a unique AIR81 number, so each CP has both a P-number and an AIR81 number. Both are searchable on the National Archives website under ‘Search the catalogue’ and both are included on the IBCC website.

The AIR81 reference on the IBCC website is a link to the file on the National Archives website. When you click on it, the relevant page will open in a new tab on your browser.

There is currently no plan to digitise AIR81 files, partly because they are fragile and partly because the information they contain can at times be sensitive, even harrowing, since they may contain exhumation reports and even photographs of corpses. Family members wishing to read the AIR81 files relating to their ancestors are advised to exercise caution and be guided by National Archives warnings where appropriate.

There are two means for accessing AIR81 files- to attend in person or to order a copy by post.

To attend in person, the attendee should first create a Reader’s Ticket. This can be done online by following this link: https://secure.nationalarchives.gov.uk/login/yourdetails. Then click on the AIR81 reference on the IBCC website and click Order in Advance. Enter your Reader’s Ticket number and state the date on which you intend to visit. National Archives will have the file ready for you when you arrive, saving you time. When you visit Kew, you must quote the Reader’s Ticket number and take along two forms of ID- one bearing your signature and one bearing your address. When you view the files, you are permitted to take photographs of each page, should you wish.

Alternatively, if you wish to order a copy by post, please be aware that there is a charge for this service based on the number of pages in the file. Click on the AIR81 reference on the IBCC website and then click Request a Copy. There is an £8.40 charge for National Archives staff to access the file and give you a quotation for the copying service. The process takes around 24 days to complete and can be expensive.

IBCC wishes to thank the staff at the MOD Records Office and National Archives for their engagement and assistance in making this facility available to our website users.