CANADIAN PARA Cooper, Dennis Akroyd

John Robertson

Administrator
Staff member
  • SURNAME
Cooper
  • FORENAME
Dennis Akroyd
  • UNIT
Army Physical Training Corps (British),attached
  • RANK
Warrant Officer Second Class (CSM)
  • NUMBER
54748
  • DATE OF DEATH
27th March 1945
  • AGE
28
  • GRAVESITE
Holten Canadian War Cemetery, Netherlands IV.F.9
  • ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
born Moorthorpe
attended South Kirkby Council School
son of Dennis and Annie Cooper
husband of Florence Laura Cooper, Beltinge, Kent, England
2 sons
served Palestine, Egypt & Arabia prior war
10 years service
KIA Germany
Unit started to advance at 0530 hrs, no breakfast was served. No enemy resistance was met until unit arrived at MR 304471 at 0945 hrs. The mortar and Vickers pls set up weapons and fired on the enemy in the woods. Arty fire was also brought down on the enemy. At approx 1100 hrs a squadron of tanks and armoured cars arrived. Enemy resistance disappeared soon afterwards. 18 PW were taken. CSMI Cooper was seriously wounded and died of his wound. Advance continued and objective taken at 1315 hrs. Coys took up defensive positions. During the night unit personnel slept in barns and houses in the vicinity of objective at MR 315478.
 
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Dennis was my paternal grandfather. We visited Holten Cemetary earlier this year to pay our respects.

The story of his service is extraordinary! One of the very last out of France after Dunkirk (he and his comrades hiked 200km and stole a boat)... one of the very first back into the country as part of the advanced guard of parachutists who set off just before midnight on 5th June 1944. Finally meeting his end during Operation Varsity, the crossing of the Rhine.

An interesting article (in English) can be found here.

https://www.rcl005.nl/archive/Magaz...nd Stories/Dennis Akroyd Cooper ENGELS rj.pdf
 
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