863102 Corporal John Robert Henry Cooper
863102 Corporal John Robert Henry Cooper was born on 14th August 1918 in Durham; the son of
Henry James and Elizabeth Jane (née Baker) Cooper.
In 1921 the family were living at 77 Gramwelgate, Durham
Prior to enlisting into the Royal Artillery in Durham on 18 January 1934, John worked as a butcher.
At the age of 25 years, while serving in the Middle East, John volunteered for Airborne Forces, undertaking his
parachute training
at Ramat David on course 78 from 12 to 23 November 1943. He joined the
11th Parachute Battalion and later became section second-in-command (2 i/c) of 9 Platoon, C Company.
As part of
Operation Market Garden, he dropped on DZ ‘Y’ on Monday 18 September 1944.
On 19th September 1945, having been wounded, John was taken
prisoner of war and sent to Stalag VIIA in Moosburg, Germany where he was held from November 1944 until February 1945.
Following this he was held at Stalag 383 until April 1945. His POW number was 140123. On 15th May 1945, John completed his
ex-Prisoner of War Questionnaire.
John was demobbed on 9th December 1946 and in July 1949 married Edna June Dixon-Hall in Hull, Yorkshire,
and in 1950 was living at 51 National Avenue, Hull.
He died on 28th May 1998 in Hull, Humberside, survived by his wife Edna who died in 2021.