"Like 1,000 fireworks' nights": D-Day veteran gives talk at Millthorpe
A D-Day veteran gave an "inspirational" talk to students about his experiences during World War II.
Ken Cooke, who turns 100 this year, visited Millthorpe School to speak to 240 Year 9 students.
The visit was organised after Mr Cooke's granddaughter, who works at the school, mentioned that he was in Normandy for the 80th anniversary commemorations last year.
The visit was organised after a remark by Mr Cooke's granddaughter, who works at the school (Image: Supplied)
Assistant principal and teacher Adam Baybutt was eager to invite Mr Cooke to speak to the students.
The students had recently learned about D-Day as part of their history curriculum and were chosen to hear Mr Cooke's talk.
To prepare for the talk, the students investigated other D-Day readings, including one from a diary of another D-Day veteran, WM Christie, who is the great-great-grandfather of a current Year 9 student.
To prepare for the talk, the students investigated other D-Day readings (Image: Supplied)
Mr Cooke, who was called up aged 18, shared his experiences of being sent to basic training and arriving in Southampton on June 4, 1944, realising he was about to take part in something monumental.
He landed at Gold Beach at 7.45am on June 6, 1944, and despite his young age and lack of training, he recalls a sense of excitement.
He described the scene to be "like 1,000 fireworks' nights all at once.
"I don't know why I did it, but I just rested on the side and watched it all happen."
It was only when he learned of the tragic deaths of some of his friends that the enormity and danger of the situation began to sink in.
Mr Cooke later suffered a serious shrapnel wound and returned to Britain to recover.
Mr Cooke was called up at the age of 18 (Image: Supplied)
He returned to action in Germany, where he was injured for a second time towards the end of the war.
His hour-long talk concluded to "rapturous applause" from the students, who were deeply moved by his first-hand account.
He left the students with a powerful message for the future: "I want you to promise me now that you won't let what happened to me, happen to you.
"Can you promise me that?"
Mr Baybutt said: "It is difficult to put into words just how fortunate and privileged we feel at being able to welcome Mr Cooke into our school.
"This is undoubtedly a highlight of my 17-year career at Millthorpe.
"The students were impeccable and listened to Ken's talk with interest and complete respect."
Students from other year groups who did not attend the talk were invited to come along to the main hall at the end of the school day, and more than 80 students did so.
They waited patiently to meet Mr Cooke, shake his hand, ask pertinent questions, and even have a photo taken.
After the talk, many students wrote letters of thanks to Mr Cooke.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Federal board considers ‘Mount Carola' as name for peak in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough
This map by the state of Alaska shows the location of Mount Carola in the Alaska Range. (State of Alaska image) The federal government may name an Alaska Range mountain after a longtime Talkeetna miner and pioneer woman this week. On Thursday, the domestic names committee of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names is scheduled to meet in Washington, D.C., to consider proposals for new names. On its agenda is Mount Carola, a mountain between Ruth Glacier and Tokositna Glacier in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The mountain doesn't currently have a federally registered name, according to U.S. Geological Survey records. Carola June Young, born in 1936, was a longtime resident of Talkeetna and the rural Matanuska-Susitna Borough. She was a former owner of the Fairview Inn in Talkeetna, one of the founders of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post, and former president of the Yentna Mining District, which includes Petersville. After her death in 2018, one of her daughters, Michele Stevens, sought to name the mountain — which overlooks the Cache Creek area, her home for 40 years — in her honor. The naming is supported by the Talkeetna Historical Society, the Mat-Su planning commission and the Alaska Miners Association, which petitioned the Alaska Historical Commission, the last stop before the national board. 'Carola Young embodies the Alaska spirit and is the kind of legend we can all be proud of,' wrote Deantha Skibinski, executive director of the Alaska Miners Association, 'and AMA could not be more proud to endorse naming a mountain after her.' During its October 2024 meeting, the board voted 6-1 to approve the nomination and submit it for federal approval. At the same meeting, the board approved the renaming of Arkose Peak to Souvenir Peak, and it approved the naming of a nearby, unnamed mountain to Arkose Peak, reflecting local use by mountaineers and skiers. Both peaks, each above 5,000 feet high, are in the Talkeetna Mountains within the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Neither of those proposals is on the federal board's agenda this month, nor is a proposal to rename 'Nazi Creek' in the Aleutians. The Alaska Historical Commission approved that latter change in April, but it remains under consideration by the federal board. The World War II-era name was chosen as part of a pattern of naming features in a grid starting with different letters of the alphabet, and advocates for the change said the original naming was arbitrary. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX


Boston Globe
8 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Army restores names of bases that lost Confederate-linked names
In March, Hegseth Advertisement To restore the original names of the additional seven bases, the Army once again found service members with the same last names to honor. Those bases are Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Pickett and Fort Robert E. Lee in Virginia, Fort Gordon in Georgia, Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Polk in Louisiana and Fort Rucker in Alabama. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The decision strips names chosen in 2023 to honor top leaders, such as President Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as Black soldiers and women. No women are included in the new Army list. There was no immediate cost estimate for changing all the signs at the bases, just two years after they were revamped. Fort A.P. Hill Originally it was named after Confederate Gen. Ambrose P. Hill, before being renamed Fort Walker after Mary Edwards Walker, a doctor who treated soldiers in the Civil War and later received a Medal of Honor. Advertisement Now it will be named to commemorate three different people: Medal of Honor recipients Lt. Col. Edward Hill, 1st Sgt. Robert A. Pinn and Pvt. Bruce Anderson for heroism during the Civil War. Fort Pickett Fort Pickett was changed to Fort Barfoot in honor of Tech Sgt. Van Barfoot, a Medal of Honor recipient who served in World War II. It will now honor 1st Lt. Vernon W. Pickett. He received the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism during World War II when he fired grenades while pinned down by enemy machine gun fire and destroyed enemy positions. He was captured, then escaped and rejoined his unit, but was killed in action. Fort Lee Fort Lee was changed to a hyphenated name, Fort Gregg-Adams, and was the only one to commemorate someone who remained alive at the time — Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg. He was known as a logistics leader and died last year. Lt. Col. Charity Adams — the other half of the name — led the first female Black unit of the Army deployed in World War II. Fort Lee will now be named for Pvt. Fitz Lee, who received the Medal of Honor for heroism during the Spanish-American War, when he moved under fire to rescue wounded comrades. Fort Gordon Fort Gordon was changed to Fort Eisenhower to commemorate the former president's time leading Allied forces in Europe in World War II. It will now be named for Medal of Honor recipient Master Sgt. Gary I. Gordon. He was honored for his valor during the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia, where he defended wounded crew members at a helicopter crash site and held off an advancing enemy force. Advertisement Fort Hood Fort Hood was changed to Fort Cavazos in honor of Gen. Richard Cavazos, the Army's first Hispanic four-star, who served in the Korean War and got the Distinguished Service Cross. It will now honor Col. Robert B. Hood. He received the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism during World War I, when he directed artillery fire in France. Fort Polk Fort Polk was changed to Fort Johnson after Black Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. William Henry Johnson, who served in World War I. It will now honor Silver Star recipient Gen. James H. Polk. Then-Col. Polk was honored for gallantry during World War II, when he led reconnaissance and combat missions under fire. He later served as head of U.S. Army Europe. Fort Rucker Fort Rucker was named Fort Novosel after Medal of Honor recipient Chief Warrant Officer Michael Novosel, who served in World War II and Vietnam. It will now honor Capt. Edward W. Rucker. He received the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism in World War I when he flew deep behind enemy lines in a daring air battle over France.

Wall Street Journal
14 hours ago
- Wall Street Journal
How Great Was Gen. Patton?
Gen. George Patton is considered to have been a fine soldier and leader (Letters, June 6). My father, who received a Purple Heart and a Silver Star in World War II and fought under Patton in the Battle of the Bulge, thought otherwise. 'They called him Old Blood and Guts,' my father said. 'It was our blood and his guts.' Scott Kaufmann