Geoffrey Strickland Cooper

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(25 October 1925 – 13 December 2014) was a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

officer of the post-Second World War era who as a fighter pilot saw action in the Middle East and Malaya. In early 1948, Cooper was stationed at Ramat David in Palestine with 208 Squadron when his base came under attack from a

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

of the

Egyptian Air Force The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) () is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces that is responsible for all airborne defence missions and operates all military aircraft, including those used in support of the Egyptian Army, Egyptian Navy ...

, destroying two British Spitfires on the ground. Just hours later an Egyptian patrol of three more Spitfires attacked again. In the subsequent fight, Cooper shot down one Spitfire, damaged another which a colleague then shot down, and a third was destroyed from the ground. In January 1949, while on patrol, Cooper was involved in a fight with Spitfires of the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...

and forced to bail out inside Egyptian territory. He was found by Bedouin tribesmen and returned to his base. In 1956, Cooper was involved in actions against communist insurgents in Malaya. In 1971, Cooper was in command at

RAF Patrington RAF Patrington (or Royal Air Force Patrington), was a Ground-controlled interception (GCI) station of the Royal Air Force in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The base was operational during the World War II, Second World War, but was repla ...

, a radar site in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Cooper retired from the RAF in 1978 as an Air Commodore. He then worked as the air correspondent of the ''

Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

''.

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* * * 1925 births 2014 deaths Royal Air Force air commodores The Daily Telegraph people People educated at Winchester College Members of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century English businesspeople Military personnel from Essex 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel {{RAF-bio-stub