Captain Maurice Lea Cooper (18 December 1898 – 2 October 1918) was an Irish

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

credited with six aerial victories.

Early life and background

Cooper was born in Dublin, Ireland, the only son of John Hall Cooper, an Irish Presbyterian, and Gertrude Lea Cooper, an English Quaker. He had two sisters; Norah Lea and Joyce. He was educated in Dublin, and later at

Bootham School Bootham School is a private Quaker boarding school, on Bootham in the city of York in England. It accepts boys and girls ages 3–19 and had an enrolment of 605 pupils in 2016. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The school was ...

, York, England.

World War I

Cooper joined the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...

on 29 April 1917, received Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate No. 5024 on 16 July, and was commissioned as a flight sub-lieutenant on 29 July. He was posted to No. 13 (Naval) Squadron to fly the

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...

single seat fighter. He destroyed an enemy two-seater on 5 December 1917, aided by fellow aces John Pinder,

George Chisholm MacKay George Chisholm MacKay DFC (17 May 1898 – 4 September 1973) was a Canadian First World War flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of e ...

, and John Paynter. On 29 January 1918, aided by MacKay, Paynter, John Edmund Greene, and

Leonard Slatter Air Marshal Sir Leonard Horatio Slatter, (8 December 1894 – 14 April 1961) was a naval aviator during the First World War and a senior Royal Air Force commander during the Second World War. Slatter ended his career as the Air Officer Command ...

, he destroyed a seaplane. On 12 March 1918, Cooper shared another victory with Greene, MacKay, and another pilot. On 1 April, Cooper flamed a German two-seater seaplane at

Zeebrugge Zeebrugge (; from , meaning "Bruges-on-Sea"; , ) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and a seafront resort with ...

, killing M. R. Behrendt and D. R. Hauptvogel. On 3 June, in the

King's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are ...

he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and on 3 July he was appointed a

flight commander A flight commander is the leader of a constituent portion of an aerial squadron in aerial operations, often into combat. That constituent portion is known as a flight, and usually contains six or fewer aircraft, with three or four being a common ...

with the temporary rank of captain. On 7 July, he,

Charles Sims Charles Sims may refer to: * Charles Sims (painter) (1873–1928), British painter * Charles Sims (mathematician) (1938–2017), American mathematician * Charles Sims (aviator) (1899–1929), British World War I flying ace * Charles Sims (Ameri ...

, and four other pilots drove down an

Albatros D.V The Albatros D.V is a fighter aircraft of the German aircraft manufacturer ''Albatros Flugzeugwerke''. It was the final development of the Albatros D.I family and the last Albatros fighter to see operational service with the (Imperial German A ...

. On 30 July 1918, he drove down another D.V at

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

. That made his tally four enemy aircraft destroyed, three of which were shared wins, and two driven down out of control, one of which was shared. On 2 October 1918, while bombing an enemy troop train, his aircraft was hit by ground fire and he died in the crash near Gitsberg, Belgium. He is buried in Dadizeele New British Cemetery,

Moorslede Moorslede () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Dadizele, Slypskapelle and Moorslede proper. On 1 January 2006, Moorslede had a total popul ...

West Flanders West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...

. He is remembered on his mother's tombstone in

Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium Mount Jerome Cemetery & Crematorium () is situated in Harold's Cross on the south side of Dublin, Ireland. Since its foundation in 1836, it has witnessed over 300,000 burials. Originally an exclusively Protestant cemetery, Roman Catholics have a ...

List of aerial victories

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Maurice 1898 births 1918 deaths Burials at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium Military personnel from Dublin (city) People educated at Bootham School Royal Naval Air Service personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I Irish World War I flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)