Cook, Ernest Desmond
Personal Information
Rank | Sgt |
Forename(s) | Ernest Desmond |
Surname | Cook |
Gender | M |
Age | 19 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 15-04-1943 |
Next of Kin | Son of Ernest and Esther Cook, of Kintbury, Berkshire. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Short Stirling III |
Serial Number | BF513 |
Markings | AA-E |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Belgium |
Burial/Memorial Place | Florennes Communal Cemetery |
Grave Reference | Row 2. Grave 21. |
Epitaph | UNTIL THE DAY BREAK AND THE SHADOWS FLEE AWAY |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 147 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 1609864 |
Service | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve |
Group | 3 |
Squadron | 75 (NZ) |
Trade | Air Gunner |
Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
Location | Crossroads of rue des Bouvreuils & rue Regniessart, Regniessart, Namur Province |
Country | Belgium |
Memorial Type | Memorial stone, inscribed metal plaque & stencilled information board |
Memorial Text | Ce mémorial a été érigé en souvenir des sept members de l’équipage du Stirling BF 513 qui est tombé à proximité de cet endroit dans la nuit du 14 au 15 avril 1943 |
Location | Village Centre, Mepal, Cambridgeshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Stone Memorial & Inscribed Metal Plaque |
Memorial Text | A stone memorial, donated by former members of 75 (NZ) Sqn RAF stationed at Mepal between 1943 and 1945 |
Location | St. Andrews Church, Sutton, Cambridgeshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Roll of Honour in Wooden Case with brass plaque |
Memorial Text | Roll of Honour. Plaque, Presented by 75(NZ) Sqn Association - UK Branch in memory of Comrades named in the Roll of Honour |
Location | St. Marys Church, Feltwell, Norfolk |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Brick Piller and Marble Tablet |
Memorial Text | A memorial to 75 (NZ) Sqn, RAF. Formed at RAF Feltwell in April 1940 and flew from there until June 1942. The Sqn number was presented to New Zealand becoming 75 Sqn RNZAF in October 1946 until its disbanding in December 2001. |
Location | Newmarket Racecourse, Newmarket, Suffolk |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Inscribed Marble Tablet |
Memorial Text | Remembering No 75 (New Zealand) Sqn, No 3 Gp Bomber Command. RAF Newmarket Heath, November 1942 - June 1943 |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/646/32 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/646/31 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 14-04-1943 |
End Date | 15-04-1943 |
Takeoff Station | Newmarket |
Day/Night Raid | Night (72% moon) |
Operation | Stuttgart. 462 aircraft, 23 losses (5.0%). PFF claimed accurate marking but the bombing was concentrated to the north east. This is an example of a phenomenon called 'creepback' where successive crews would release their bombs earlier and earlier on an effort to turn for home as quickly as possible. Fortunately the bombed suburbs included many industrial installations so some useful damage was caused. An air raid shelter packed with French and Russian PoWs was hit, increasing the death toll to 619, a new record. |
Reason for Loss | Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed SE of Couvin, Belgium |