David Arthur Coke, DFC, ( ;The family name was pronounced in the same way as the name "Cook". 4 December 1915 – 9 December 1941) was a

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the Indi ...

in the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and is credited with two destroyed, two probables, and two damaged aircraft during his service. He is known in popular culture for his friendship with the author

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has b ...

while serving in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

Early life and family

The second son of

Thomas Coke, 4th Earl of Leicester Thomas William Coke, 4th Earl of Leicester, (9 July 1880 – 21 August 1949) was a British peer and Army officer, styled Viscount Coke from 1909 to 1941. Early life Coke was the son of Thomas William Coke, 3rd Earl of Leicester, and Hon. Alic ...

and Marion Gertrude (née Trefusis), Coke was godson of King

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He was a graduate of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

Second World War

Coke joined the

(RAFVR) in June 1939, the summer before war broke out, and attended No. 5 Operational Training Unit in April

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

. He was promoted to the rank of acting

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countrie ...

on 3 September 1940. By August 1940 he flew a

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...

with No. 257 Squadron RAF during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended ...

as a

. On 12 August 1940, his Hurricane (P3776) was badly shot up over the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or (Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kan ...

off

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

. His finger was amputated and the aircraft was repaired. Posted to 46 Squadron in December 1940, Coke was then promoted to flying officer. He went on to fight in the Balkans campaign with No. 33 Squadron and the

Syria–Lebanon campaign The Syria–Lebanon campaign, also known as Operation Exporter, was the Allied invasion of Syria and Lebanon (then controlled by Vichy France) in June and July 1941, during the Second World War. The French had ceded autonomy to Syria in Septem ...

with

No. 80 Squadron RAF No. 80 Squadron RAF was a Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force squadron active from 1917 until 1969. It was operative during both World War I and World War II. Establishment and early service Founded on 1 August 1917 at RAF Montrose, equi ...

. During this period with No. 80 squadron, he became friends with famed author

, as detailed in Dahl's autobiography ''

Going Solo ''Going Solo'' is a book by Roald Dahl, first published by Jonathan Cape in London in 1986. It is a continuation of his autobiography describing his childhood, ''Boy'' and detailed his travel to Africa and exploits as a World War II pilot. Plot ...

''. Dahl described Coke (pronounced "Cook", he said) as:

. . . 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 Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Su ...

, Coke was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his work in an attack on enemy transport and for his leadership as a

. The citation read: Coke was killed in action by enemy Bf 109s in

Acroma Acroma (also Akramah and Ikrimah) is a town in northeastern Libya in Butnan District, about 28 km west of Tobruk. On April 17, 1917, the Treaty of Acroma, was signed by the Italian government (as occupying, colonial power) and Mohammed ...

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή ��παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...

, Africa on Tuesday 9 December 1941, five days after his twenty-sixth birthday, and buried at

Knightsbridge War Cemetery Knightsbridge War Cemetery is a war cemetery located in Acroma, Libya, located 750 metres south of the main road from Benghazi to Tobruk, west of Tobruk. The cemetery is situated in open country, the Cross of Sacrifice is set high above the level ...

, Acroma, Libya (Ref. B.A. 3. B. 18).Profile
cwgc.org; accessed 5 April 2014.

Notes

References

Bibliography

thepeerage.com; accessed 5 April 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Coke, David Arthur 1915 births 1941 deaths Military personnel from Norfolk People from Norfolk Royal Air Force officers The Few Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II Aviators killed by being shot down Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Younger sons of earls

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

British World War II fighter pilots Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Burials at Knightsbridge War Cemetery Roald Dahl