Captain Jack Herbert Cooper was in Army House from May 1928 to Dec 1932, a House Prefect in January 1932, in the Boxing XIII in 1932, the 2nd XI Cricket and a Corporal in the Officer Training Corps. From Bradfield he went on to a career as an Analytical Chemist with Frank Cooper Ltd.

Serving as a Captain during the D-Day landing on Sword Beach in Normandy on 6 June 1944 with the 1st Battalion Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry his role was to manage the landings on the beaches. He continued with his regiment to push southwards towards Caen in the following weeks and during the 2nd Battle of the Odon from 15-17 July 1944 was killed in action on 16 July 1944.

He is buried at Brouay War Cemetary in Normandy, France. His gravestone inscription reads: In memory of Jack. “He died for his country our thoughts are with you always.”

He is also named on the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer, inaugurated in 2021 to pay tribute to the 1475 British servicemen and 22,442 soldiers in total who were under British command and who played a vital part during the landings and the Battle of Normandy.

Also from the same Class of 1933, we remember Captain Frederick Harold Montagu Murdoch who was in Army House at the same time from May 1928 to April 1933 and a Prefect in his final year. A talented sportsman Frederick was in the Football First XI in 1932 pictured below, the Boxing VIII 1929-33 and Captain in 1933, the Running XIII in 1932 before joining the Royal Military College at Sandhurst in 1935.

While in the Army he continued with his boxing to become the Officers Middleweight Champion, A.B.A. 1937-1938-1939: Officers Middleweight Champion, I.S.B.A. 1938-1939.

Serving in the 4th Battalion Royal Tank Regiment, Royal Army Corps in 1936 and promoted to Captain in 1939, he was also killed in action on 21 May 1940 near Dunkirk when he was 25 years of age.  

He is commemorated on the Dunkirk Memorial in France.

The Bradfield Football Team in 1932 of which Frederick was a member is pictured below:

We would love to hear from family of any other Bradfieldians who served. Our key source of data - the Roll of Honour - records only those who sadly died, but many Bradfieldians will also have returned safely from service in France and elsewhere.