In memory of F/Lt Henry Bradfield (Hank) Cooper, DSO DFC, who passed away on August 22nd 2005
Cooper (right) with his pilot, Flying Officer Kelt standing in the snow in front of their Mosquito
Flight Lieutenant Hank Cooper, who has died aged 85, played an important role in the secret radio war that was waged over German skies; for this he received a DSO, a rare award for a wireless operator/air gunner.
Cooper had already completed more than 30 bombing operations when he joined No 192 Squadron at Foulsham, Norfolk, in November 1943. The squadron was part of No 100 (Special Duties) Group, which had recently been formed to provide radio countermeasures to confound the German night fighter and air defence system, and to reduce the RAF’s heavy bomber losses.
Flying in specially equipped Wellingtons and Halifaxes amongst the main bomber attack force, Cooper had the task of gathering signals intelligence on German radar and radio transmissions.
After 10 operations collecting data on the frequencies used by the early warning radar sites positioned along the coast of the North Sea and the Bay of Biscay, Cooper started flying over Germany in the two-seat Mosquito. Undeterred by the fact that he had not trained as a navigator, he went on to complete many long-range operations over Germany.
After completing 30 operations, he was awarded a DFC for bringing back exceptionally valuable “Y” information (signals intelligence). His commanding officer commented that he had “never seen Cooper ruffled on returning from any operation”.
The son of a builder, Henry Bradfield Cooper, always known as Hank, was born on May 4th 1919 at Chevington, near Bury St Edmunds. After attending West Suffolk County School, where he excelled at sport, he joined the Post Office as an apprentice engineer in 1936. At the outbreak of war, he was working on secret transmission systems at RAF Mildenhall. Within a few weeks he was called up by the RAF.
Cooper trained as a Wireless Operator and Air Gunner before joining No 149 Squadron, based at Mildenhall, operating the twin-engine Wellington bomber. He flew his first operation against Gelsenkirchen in January 1941. Over the next six months he completed 32 raids on Germany, attacking Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne. He described this period as his most ‘frightening and hair-raising’; by the end of the war, he and one other were the only survivors from his crew of six.
At the end of his tour, he was mentioned in dispatches and commissioned pilot officer. For his rest tour, he instructed at an operation training unit at Wellesbourne, near Warwick.
On the night of May 30th 1942, Cooper attacked Cologne during the first of Air Marshal Sir Arthur ‘Bomber’ Harris’s 1,000-bomber raids. Operation Millennium. To achieve this, Harris employed almost 400 aircraft from the bomber training units, manned by instructors. Two nights later, they flew on the second 1,000-bomber raid to attack Essen.
After completing his tour on No 192, Cooper spent some time working in the air intelligence branch at the Air Ministry. “I didn’t like this inactive work”, he recalled. “so strove hard to get back on operations.” In November 1944, he volunteered to return to No 192 and, over the next four months, flew a further 35 operations over Germany. As the war drew to a close, jamming and diversionary operations became the primary role for No 192.
Cooper’s last flight, on April 24th 1945, was when he accompanied the bomber force to Munich. It was his 100th operation over Germany, a unique record that was recognized by Geoffrey de Havilland, and by workers at his Mosquito factory, who presented Cooper with a painting of his aircraft. Shortly afterwards, it was announced that Cooper had been awarded a DSO.
Cooper’s Squadron Commander commented that “his keenness for operational flying is quite exceptional. His great technical ability, cool skill and strong sense of duty have caused him to be chosen for the most difficult tasks. His devotion to duty has been exemplary.’
When the war ended, Cooper was sent to the Radio Warfare Establishment, where he continued to work in the secret world of radio and radar surveillance. Always a modest man, all he would say of this was that “we investigated various radars”. Some of these included captured German systems.
In the Autumn of 1948, Cooper returned to the GPO. In the course of the next 32 years there, he received regular promotions, culminating in his appointment in 1976 as the deputy telephone manager for the City area of London. During his service with the GPO, he was awarded their silver medal for his Paper on ‘The Gas Pressurisation of Cables’.
Cooper retired to Suffolk in 1980, moving to Cornwall three years later. A first rate squash player, he represented the RAF in 1948 and in the 1950’s was twice champion of Suffolk. He also won the Civil Service championship and represented Cambridgeshire until 1962. At the age of 50 he regained his club championship. In 1970 he joined the British champion, Jonah Barrington, to make a series of squash tutorial programmes for Anglia Television.
Otherwise, Cooper enjoyed shooting and fishing, and remained a strong supporter of the Cromer tennis and squash club. He always had a strong sense of humour.
Hank Cooper died on August 22nd 2005. He married Diane Johnson in 1950, who survives him with their son and daughter.
Edited from The Daily Telegraph, Monday September 13th, 2004
Diane writes: “ … it was a great honour to have Hewsy’s Obituary recorded in the Daily Telegraph. He was such a modest man that many people were surprised and also pleased. He had a service in West Runton Church – which was packed, over 200 in the congregation. His ashes are buried in Chevington graveyard (his birth village and our daughter’s home also). We had 54 years of super marriage and I miss him very much. His humour touched everybody.”
This article is from the Autumn 2006 issue of Confound and Destroy
