Major Edward Cooper VC photographed during the Queens visit in 1977 to celebrate her Silver Jubilee 
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
Major Edward Cooper VC photographed during the Queens visit in 1977 to celebrate her Silver Jubilee
Picture Stockton Archive 
A true Rifleman and Greenjacket. May his name live on forever.
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Major Cooper VC is remembered today in the Stockton Masonic Hall with a room dedicated to his memory.
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Major Cooper, then a Sergeant in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps, was awarded his VC for his actions during the third battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) in 1917. As his platoon advanced towards the village of Langemarcke, they were held up by machine gun fire from a German Block House. With half of the men dead or wounded, including his Platoon Commander, Sergeant Cooper attacked the strongpoint single-handed. Armed only with the revolver of his dead officer, Sgt. Cooper silenced the machine guns and called on the occupants of the Block House to surrender. A total of 45 Germans, with 8 machine guns between them, gave themselves up. When the Germans in a nearby trench saw what was happening they opened fire on Sgt. Cooper but only succeeded in hitting a number of those who had surrendered.
Sgt Cooper knew nothing of his award until several months later when he was back in England on leave. He was in Kings Cross station waiting for the train to Stockton when he saw his name in the list of newly created VCs in a newspaper.
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