COOPER, Harry

Harry Cooper was the son of Richard and Sarah Cooper of Wordsley. He enlisted in the Sherwood Foresters and, possibly after return from injuries, was transferred to the 7th (Service) Battalion of the Royal West Kents in the 55th Division. They were on the Somme in 1916 and for the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917 they attacked Sanctuary Wood on the first day. Their most prominent success was at Poelcappelle on the 23rd October. In February 1918 they moved south to Noyon near the Hindenburg Line and prisoners taken in mid-March revealed that the German Spring offensive was soon to start. The immense barrage opened at 4.40 a.m. on the 21st and the West Kents were stationed in the Forward Zone behind the River Oise. By mid-day their front line troops were surrounded and by the afternoon they had been either killed or captured. One of those killed was Private Harry Cooper. He was 23 years of age and is commemorated on the Pozières and Wordsley Memorials.