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David Coke

January 01, 1970

Not to be confused with persons named David Cooke.

David Arthur Coke, DFC, (/ˈkʊk/ KUUK;[nb 1] 4 December 1915 – 9 December 1941) was a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve during the Second World War, and is credited with two destroyed, two probables, and two damaged aircraft during his service.[1] He is known in popular culture for his friendship with the author Roald Dahl while serving in the Royal Air Force.[2]

David Arthur Coke
Born(1915-12-04)4 December 1915
Norfolk, England
Died9 December 1941(1941-12-09) (aged 26)
Acroma, Libya
Buried
Knightsbridge War Cemetery, Acroma
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Air Force
Years of service1939–1941
RankFlight lieutenant
Battles/warsSecond World War
AwardsDistinguished Flying Cross

Early life and family edit

The second son of Thomas Coke, 4th Earl of Leicester and Marion Gertrude (née Trefusis), Coke was godson of King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom. He was a graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge.[3]

Second World War edit

Coke joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) in June 1939, the summer before war broke out, and attended No. 5 Operational Training Unit in April 1940. He was promoted to the rank of acting pilot officer on 3 September 1940.[4] By August 1940 he flew a Hawker Hurricane with No. 257 Squadron RAF during the Battle of Britain as a pilot officer. On 12 August 1940, his Hurricane (P3776) was badly shot up over the English Channel off Portsmouth. His finger was amputated and the aircraft was repaired.[5] Posted to 46 Squadron in December 1940, Coke was then promoted to flying officer.[6]

He went on to fight in the Balkans campaign with No. 33 Squadron and the Syria–Lebanon campaign with No. 80 Squadron RAF. During this period with No. 80 squadron, he became friends with famed author Roald Dahl, as detailed in Dahl's autobiography Going Solo.[2] Dahl described Coke (pronounced "Cook", he said) as:[7]

. . . warm-hearted and brave and generous, and over the next few weeks we were to become close friends.

When Dahl first arrived as a replacement pilot and met Coke, Coke told him the RAF's situation was "absolutely hopeless." He told Dahl:

'I was in the Battle of Britain before I came here. That was bad enough, but it was peanuts compared to this crazy place. We have no radar here at all . . . The Greeks are our radar. We have a Greek peasant sitting on the top of every mountain for miles around, and when he spots a bunch of German planes he calls up the Ops Room here on a field telephone. That’s our radar." ‘Does it work?’ ‘Now and again it does,’ he said.’

While serving in Libya, Coke was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his work in an attack on enemy transport and for his leadership as a flight lieutenant. The citation read:[8]

Flight Lieutenant The Hon. David Arthur COKE (73042), Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, No. 80 Squadron (since missing).
This officer participated in an attack on enemy transport on the El-Adem-Acroma road one day in November 1941, in which a large number of vehicles, tanks and mechanised transport were bombed and machine-gunned. The damage inflicted played a very large part in the blocking of the road. By his skill and leadership, Flight Lieutenant Coke contributed materially to the success achieved. In addition to the low flying machine-gunning operations which have been carried out, Flight Lieutenant Coke has led the squadron with great success in air combat. During an engagement 2 days later, the squadron shared in the destruction of 5 Messerschmitt 109's.

Coke was killed in action by enemy Bf 109s in Acroma, Cyrenaica, Africa on Tuesday 9 December 1941, five days after his twenty-sixth birthday, and buried at Knightsbridge War Cemetery, Acroma, Libya (Ref. B.A. 3. B. 18).[9][10]

Notes edit

  1. ^ The family name was pronounced in the same way as the name "Cook".

References edit

  1. ^ Those Other Eagles by C. Shores (2004), p. 111ISBN 1904010881
  2. ^ a b Roald Dahl (2 February 2012). Going Solo. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 978-0-14-196533-8.
  3. ^ Burke's Peerage, 1939 ("Leicester").
  4. ^ "No. 34986". The London Gazette. 5 November 1940. p. 6399.
  5. ^ "Co-pilots".
  6. ^ "No. 35335". The London Gazette. 4 November 1941. p. 6376.
  7. ^ Dahl, Roald. Going Solo.  London: Jonathan Cape. 1986.
  8. ^ "No. 34986". The London Gazette. 5 November 1940. p. 7298.
  9. ^ Profile, roll-of-honour.com; accessed 5 April 2014.
  10. ^ Profile, cwgc.org; accessed 5 April 2014.

January 01, 1970
david, coke, confused, with, persons, named, david, cooke, david, arthur, coke, kuuk, december, 1915, december, 1941, flight, lieutenant, royal, force, volunteer, reserve, during, second, world, credited, with, destroyed, probables, damaged, aircraft, during, . Not to be confused with persons named David Cooke David Arthur Coke DFC ˈ k ʊ k KUUK nb 1 4 December 1915 9 December 1941 was a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve during the Second World War and is credited with two destroyed two probables and two damaged aircraft during his service 1 He is known in popular culture for his friendship with the author Roald Dahl while serving in the Royal Air Force 2 David Arthur CokeBorn 1915 12 04 4 December 1915Norfolk EnglandDied9 December 1941 1941 12 09 aged 26 Acroma LibyaBuriedKnightsbridge War Cemetery AcromaAllegianceUnited KingdomService wbr branchRoyal Air ForceYears of service1939 1941RankFlight lieutenantBattles warsSecond World War Battle of Britain Balkans campaign Syria Lebanon campaign Battle of AthensAwardsDistinguished Flying Cross Contents 1 Early life and family 2 Second World War 3 Notes 4 ReferencesEarly life and family editThe second son of Thomas Coke 4th Earl of Leicester and Marion Gertrude nee Trefusis Coke was godson of King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom He was a graduate of Trinity College Cambridge 3 Second World War editCoke joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve RAFVR in June 1939 the summer before war broke out and attended No 5 Operational Training Unit in April 1940 He was promoted to the rank of acting pilot officer on 3 September 1940 4 By August 1940 he flew a Hawker Hurricane with No 257 Squadron RAF during the Battle of Britain as a pilot officer On 12 August 1940 his Hurricane P3776 was badly shot up over the English Channel off Portsmouth His finger was amputated and the aircraft was repaired 5 Posted to 46 Squadron in December 1940 Coke was then promoted to flying officer 6 He went on to fight in the Balkans campaign with No 33 Squadron and the Syria Lebanon campaign with No 80 Squadron RAF During this period with No 80 squadron he became friends with famed author Roald Dahl as detailed in Dahl s autobiography Going Solo 2 Dahl described Coke pronounced Cook he said as 7 warm hearted and brave and generous and over the next few weeks we were to become close friends When Dahl first arrived as a replacement pilot and met Coke Coke told him the RAF s situation was absolutely hopeless He told Dahl I was in the Battle of Britain before I came here That was bad enough but it was peanuts compared to this crazy place We have no radar here at all The Greeks are our radar We have a Greek peasant sitting on the top of every mountain for miles around and when he spots a bunch of German planes he calls up the Ops Room here on a field telephone That s our radar Does it work Now and again it does he said While serving in Libya Coke was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his work in an attack on enemy transport and for his leadership as a flight lieutenant The citation read 8 Flight Lieutenant The Hon David Arthur COKE 73042 Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve No 80 Squadron since missing This officer participated in an attack on enemy transport on the El Adem Acroma road one day in November 1941 in which a large number of vehicles tanks and mechanised transport were bombed and machine gunned The damage inflicted played a very large part in the blocking of the road By his skill and leadership Flight Lieutenant Coke contributed materially to the success achieved In addition to the low flying machine gunning operations which have been carried out Flight Lieutenant Coke has led the squadron with great success in air combat During an engagement 2 days later the squadron shared in the destruction of 5 Messerschmitt 109 s Coke was killed in action by enemy Bf 109s in Acroma Cyrenaica Africa on Tuesday 9 December 1941 five days after his twenty sixth birthday and buried at Knightsbridge War Cemetery Acroma Libya Ref B A 3 B 18 9 10 Notes edit The family name was pronounced in the same way as the name Cook References edit Those Other Eagles by C Shores 2004 p 111ISBN 1904010881 a b Roald Dahl 2 February 2012 Going Solo Penguin Books Limited ISBN 978 0 14 196533 8 Burke s Peerage 1939 Leicester No 34986 The London Gazette 5 November 1940 p 6399 Co pilots No 35335 The London Gazette 4 November 1941 p 6376 Dahl Roald Going Solo London Jonathan Cape 1986 No 34986 The London Gazette 5 November 1940 p 7298 Profile roll of honour com accessed 5 April 2014 Profile cwgc org accessed 5 April 2014 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title David Coke amp oldid 1199116439, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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