WWII Experience: Remembrance Day

Ken Cooke's D-Day Experience

• Ken Cooke, 98, was an 18-year-old infantryman in the 7th battalion of the Green Howards (Yorkshire regiment) during the D-Day invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944.
• He was part of the massive Allied force of 160,000 men, 3,000 landing craft, 2,500 ships, and 500 ancillary craft and merchant vessels.

Pre-War Life

• Cooke left school at 14 in 1939 and worked with his father in a Royal Ordnance factory, ferrying cups of tea and messages between the workers constructing anti-aircraft weapons.
• He recalls a burly police officer arresting a man in the office for allegedly spying for the Germans.
• His father was called up to serve as a medic, and Cooke was called up in 1943, shortly before Christmas.

Training and Deployment

• Cooke underwent basic training in Richmond, which included haircuts, inoculations, and marching drills.
• He was moved between barracks, eventually ending up at an American camp just outside Southampton.
• On June 5, 1944, he was told to get his gear together and boarded the Empire Rapier, a landing craft.

D-Day Landing

• Cooke's landing craft stopped about two feet from the beach at 7:45 am, and he stepped into six inches of water while bullets buzzed overhead.
• He was tasked with getting off the beach as swiftly as possible, leaving behind any wounded comrades.
• He and his fellow soldiers traversed the beach quickly, and Cooke does not recall firing his weapon that day.

Post-Landing and Injuries

• Cooke and his fellow soldiers were tasked with "hedge hopping" through the countryside, clearing villages of German troops.
• He was injured on July 4, 1944, when a shell exploded near him, and he was treated in a field hospital.
• Cooke was shipped back to England, where he underwent surgery and rehabilitation.

Later War Experience

• After rehabilitation, Cooke received a letter to report to Leeds in February 1945 and eventually joined the Highland Light Infantry.
• He fought on to the Rhine, crossing in a canoe-type vessel.
• His war eventually ended outside Bremen.

Post-War Life

• Cooke worked at Rowntree's confectionery company in York, where he met his wife, Joan, and retired over four decades later.
• He started speaking about his war experiences in the 1990s, and his recollections were used in an award-winning verbatim play, Bomb Happy.

Ken Cooke's D-Day Experience

• Ken Cooke, 98, was an 18-year-old infantryman in the 7th battalion of the Green Howards (Yorkshire regiment) during the D-Day invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944.
• He was part of the massive Allied force of 160,000 men, 3,000 landing craft, 2,500 ships, and 500 ancillary craft and merchant vessels.

Pre-War Life

• Cooke left school at 14 in 1939 and worked with his father in a Royal Ordnance factory, ferrying cups of tea and messages between the workers constructing anti-aircraft weapons.
• He recalls a burly police officer arresting a man in the office for allegedly spying for the Germans.
• His father was called up to serve as a medic, and Cooke was called up in 1943, shortly before Christmas.

Training and Deployment

• Cooke underwent basic training in Richmond, which included haircuts, inoculations, and marching drills.
• He was moved between barracks, eventually ending up at an American camp just outside Southampton.
• On June 5, 1944, he was told to get his gear together and boarded the Empire Rapier, a landing craft.

D-Day Landing

• Cooke's landing craft stopped about two feet from the beach at 7:45 am, and he stepped into six inches of water while bullets buzzed overhead.
• He was tasked with getting off the beach as swiftly as possible, leaving behind any wounded comrades.
• He and his fellow soldiers traversed the beach quickly, and Cooke does not recall firing his weapon that day.

Post-Landing and Injuries

• Cooke and his fellow soldiers were tasked with "hedge hopping" through the countryside, clearing villages of German troops.
• He was injured on July 4, 1944, when a shell exploded near him, and he was treated in a field hospital.
• Cooke was shipped back to England, where he underwent surgery and rehabilitation.

Later War Experience

• After rehabilitation, Cooke received a letter to report to Leeds in February 1945 and eventually joined the Highland Light Infantry.
• He fought on to the Rhine, crossing in a canoe-type vessel.
• His war eventually ended outside Bremen.

Post-War Life

• Cooke worked at Rowntree's confectionery company in York, where he met his wife, Joan, and retired over four decades later.
• He started speaking about his war experiences in the 1990s, and his recollections were used in an award-winning verbatim play, Bomb Happy.