LEST WE FORGET
Flight Sergeant Ronald Anthony COOK
Service No: 423985
Born: Parramatta NSW, 29 July 1915
Enlisted in the RAAF: 18 July 1942
Unit: No. 57 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station East Kirkby
Died: Air Operations (No. 57 Squadron Lancaster aircraft JB366), Germany, 27 January 1944, Aged 28 Years
Buried: Unrecovered
CWGC Additional Information: Son of George James Cook and Edna Grace Cook; husband of Lila May Cook, of Lindfield, New South Wales, Australia
Roll of Honour: Rhodes NSW
Remembered: Panel 260, Runnymede Memorial, Surrey UK
Remembered: Panel 120, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
At 1740 hours on 27 January 1944 Lancaster JB366 took off from East Kirby to attack Berlin. Nothing was heard from the aircraft and it did not return to base. Following post war investigations, it was established from German documents that the aircraft crashed at Jetzch, 10 kms north west of Luckau, in the Russian Zone of occupation in Germany. Four of the crew became Prisoners of War while no information concerning the burial place of the three remaining missing members could be found.
The crew members of JB366 were:
Sergeant Richard Anderson (991776) (RAFVR) (Air Gunner)
Flight Sergeant Ronald Anthony Cook (423985) (Air Gunner)
Sergeant J K English (967976) (RAFVR) (Flight Engineer) PoW
Sergeant G J Huxtable (1385692) (RAFVR) (Wireless Operator Air) PoW
Sergeant D N Marsh (1452031) (RAFVR) (Navigator) PoW
Sergeant J D Rennie (R/155649) (RCAF) (Air Bomber) PoW
Pilot Officer Antony Oliver Wright (158793) (RAFVR) (Pilot)
One of the survivors stated that in his opinion, the aircraft was shot down by rockets over the target.
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records (RAAF Casualty Information compiled by Alan Storr (409804))
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A705, 166/8/562