Tony Cooper, born in 1916, went to boarding school aged seven at Beccles. From there, he went to Framlingham for two years, but after twice suffering diphtheria, attended a boarding school in Bishop Stortford.

 

Aged 21, in 1937 he was accepted for pilot training in the RAF Volunteer Reserve at Luton. Progressing onto a Flying Instructor’s Course, he was posted to Ontario, Canada, in November 1940 to help with flying training.

 

He then met and married Pearl, a Canadian, and they remained married for 56 years. On returning to Britain, Tony embarked on a Spitfire Course in Shropshire and, assessed as an above average Spitfire Pilot, he joined No. 64 Squadron at Ayr, Scotland in July 1943.

 

He served the following 16 months with the Squadron, involved in many operations over occupied Europe. In late June, the Squadron moved to Harrowbeer, Devon, and a few months on became involved in sorties in support of Operation Market Garden – the Arnhem-Para Landings. In November 1944, Tony went back to instructing, his final sortie in the RAF being on 18 June 1945.  

 

Returning home to Lowestoft, he became the 5th generation to work at W. B. Cooper Ltd, near the Town Hall.

 

Distinguished guests from across the country gathered to celebrate this remarkable life of a former Spitfire Pilot to mark his 100th birthday.

   

He had flown a total of 3,200 hours, 160 operational sorties, and survived five forced landings – two at night, two on fire, one as a result of being hit by enemy fire. Notably, he flew twice on D-Day, the first as part of a 13-aircraft formation providing fighter cover for Utah beach, the second over Omaha beach.

 

More than 100 guests arrived at the Ivy House Country Hotel on Saturday 6 February 2016 to recall memories of his life, with pilots of the Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (RAFBBMF) based at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire; making up part of the ceremony.

 

Last year, Tony was awarded the Legion d’Honneur medal from France for his Spitfire flying during the Second World War. On receiving this medal, he said: ‘The beautiful medal is incredible and the French have got it right!’

 

Tony Cooper has two children, five grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

 

 

 

 

This article is from the Summer 2016 issue of Confound and Destroy