Maurice Cooper
Captain Maurice Lea Cooper DFC (18 December 1898 – 2 October 1918) was an Irish World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories.[1]
Maurice Lea Cooper | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 December 1898 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 2 October 1918 (aged 19) Northeast of Gitsberg, Belgium |
| Buried | Dadizeele New British Cemetery, Moorslede, West Flanders, Belgium (50°50′55.4″N 3°05′15.7″E) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | Royal Navy Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1917–1918 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | No. 13 Squadron RNAS/No. 213 Squadron RAF |
| Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross |
Early life and background
Cooper was born in Dublin, Ireland,[1] the only son of John Hall Cooper, an Irish Presbyterian, and Gertrude Lea Cooper, an English Quaker.[2][3] He had two sisters; Norah Lea and Joyce. He was educated in Dublin, and later at Bootham School, York, England.[4]
World War I
Cooper joined the Royal Naval Air Service on 29 April 1917,[5] received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate No. 5024 on 16 July,[1] and was commissioned as a flight sub-lieutenant on 29 July.[6]
He was posted to No. 13 (Naval) Squadron to fly the Sopwith Camel single seat fighter. He destroyed an enemy two-seater on 5 December 1917, aided by fellow aces John Pinder, George Chisholm MacKay, and John Paynter. On 29 January 1918, aided by MacKay, Paynter, John Edmund Greene, and Leonard Slatter, he destroyed a seaplane. On 12 March 1918, Cooper shared another victory with Greene, MacKay, and another pilot. On 1 April, Cooper flamed a German two-seater seaplane at Zeebrugge, killing M. R. Behrendt and D. R. Hauptvogel.[5] On 3 June, in the King's Birthday Honours he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross,[7] and on 3 July he was appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain.[8] On 7 July, he, Charles Sims, and four other pilots drove down an Albatros D.V. On 30 July 1918, he drove down another D.V at Bruges. That made his tally four enemy aircraft destroyed, three of which were shared wins, and two driven down out of control, one of which was shared.[5]
On 2 October 1918, while bombing an enemy troop train, his aircraft was hit by ground fire and he died in the crash near Gitsberg, Belgium.[5] He is buried in Dadizeele New British Cemetery, Moorslede, West Flanders.[9]
List of aerial victories
| No. | Date/Time | Aircraft/ Serial No. |
Opponent | Result | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 13 (Naval) Squadron RNAS | ||||||
| 1 | 5 December 1917 @ 1505 | Sopwith Camel (B6407) | C | Destroyed | 4 miles (6.4 km) north-west of Wenduine | Shared with Flight Sub-Lieutenants John Pinder, George MacKay & John Paynter. |
| 2 | 29 January 1918 @ 1400 | Sopwith Camel (B6410) | Seaplane | Destroyed | 100 yards (91 m) from Blankenberge Pier | Shared with Flight Commander Leonard Slatter, and Flight Sub-Lieutenants John Paynter, John Greene & George MacKay. |
| 3 | 12 March 1918 @ 0900 | Sopwith Camel (B6410) | C | Destroyed in flames | Ostend–Wenduine | Shared with Flight Sub-Lieutenants John Greene, George MacKay & E. V. Bell. |
| No. 213 Squadron RAF | ||||||
| 4 | 1 April 1918 @ abt 1430 | Sopwith Camel (B6416) | Seaplane C | Destroyed in flames | Zeebrugge | |
| 5 | 7 July 1918 @ 1140 | Sopwith Camel (B3326) | Albatros D.V | Out of control | Middelkerke | Shared with Lieutenants G. D. Smith, Jenner, Allott, Rankin & Charles Sims. |
| 6 | 30 July 1918 @ 1150 | Sopwith Camel (D3326) | Albatros D.V | Out of control | Bruges | |
References
- Notes
- "Maurice Lea Cooper". The Aerodrome. 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
- Knight, Francis Arnold, ed. (1920). The Annual Monitor: Obituary of the members of the Society of Friends in Great Britain and Ireland. p. 13. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
- "Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin (Part IV) No's. 451–600". Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives. 2012. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
- "The Great War 1914-18 radio drama". Bootham School. 2016. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
- Shores, Franks & Guest (1990), p. 121.
- "No. 30296". The London Gazette. 21 September 1917. pp. 9756–9757.
- "No. 30722". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 May 1918. p. 6519.
- "No. 30876". The London Gazette. 30 August 1918. p. 10189.
- "Casualty Details: Cooper, Maurice Lea". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
- Bibliography
- Shores, Christopher F.; Franks, Norman & Guest, Russell F. (1990). Above the Trenches: a Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920. London, UK: Grub Street. ISBN 978-0-948817-19-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)