Date of birth:

June 1st, 1922 (Brantford/Ontario, Canada)

Date of death:

May 31st, 1942 (Linde (Vorden) /Gelderland, the Netherlands)

Buried on:

Commonwealth War Graves Vorden
Grave: 2-3.

Service number:

R/70432

Nationality:

Canadian

Leonard was born on June 1 1922 in Brantford, Ontario, the son of William Cooke and Elizabeth Cooke nee Walters (both English) of Brantford. He had five brothers and three sister and one sister died during the infancy

He was assembling and member of the Baptist Church. His sports were hockey, baseball, softball and swimming and his hobby was woodcraft.

He enlisted on September 16 1940 in Hamilton Ontario and he went thereafter on August 15 1941 from Canada overseas to the UK.

Leonard was killed in action on Sunday May 31 1942 age 19, just a day before his 20th birthday due to a crash near Linde (Vorden) after an attack on Cologne in Germany. The other fallen RAF Volunteer Reserve crew members were Sgt Peter G.A. Malin age 23 in grave 2-3, Sgt James H. Holmes in grave 2-3, W/O Ronald Peel age 22 in grave 1 and Sgt Raymond Catley in grave 4.

He served with the 156 (R.A.F.) Sqdn Royal Canadian Air Force. His headstone bears the inscription: AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN AND IN THE MORNING WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

In 2022, a monument was unveiled at the crash site. In the same year published the book “De 20 geallieerde gezichten van Vorden” (The 20 Allied Faces of Vorden). This book tells the stories of the 20 Allied soldiers buried in Vorden, including that of Leonard Cooke.

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• Photo 1: Omkijkpunt
• Photo 2: Jan de Jager
• - FREERK BOEKELO & ROBERT ELLENKAMP, De 20 Geallieerde Gezichten van Vorden, Omkijkpunt, 2022.
  - Edwin van der Wolf
  - Verliesregister
  - https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/205732/

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