247065 2Lt. Paul Cooke British Army 1st Battalion Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry from:Langley (d.28th May 1940) Like so many who lost treasured sons in service my grandparents, and indeed his sisters (one of which my mother), never spoke of the loss of Paul Cooke in the Battle of the Ypres-Comines Canal.
He died on 28th of May 1940 and it is only now that I have read about the significance of this event in the Dunkirk evacuation story. On the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site, there is this statement on his page, 'Following the path of duty he passed beyond the sight of man'. I do not know how this statement came about. (This is the inscription on his grave stone chosen by his parents, editor)
Paul was 24, an Oxford graduate who represented Oxford and England in rugby. He played alongside Obolensky who became famous for enabling a rare win against New Zealand. Before the war Paul travelled to South America on rugby tours and seems to have been a bit of a debs delight on board ship.
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