Sources: Canadian Virtual War Memorial Nova Scotia, Canada, Births, 1840-1921 UK, Commonwealth War Graves, 1914-1921 and 1939-1947 UK, World War II Index to Allied Airmen Roll of Honour, 1939-1945 findagrave

Name: Norman Cocking Rank: Corporal Service Number: 542816 Service: Headquarters, British Air Forces in France, Royal Air Force Date of Birth: February 24, 1919 Place of Birth: Halifax, Halifax Co., Nova Scotia Date of Enlistment: Unknown Place of Enlistment: England Address at Enlistment: Gloucestershire, England Age at Enlistment: 20-21 Date of Death: June 17, 1940 Age: 21 Memorial: Runnymede Memorial Surrey, England Reference: Panel 21 Commemorated on Page 602 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on December 21 and 22 Norman Cocking was the son of Thomas Cocking (1890-1981) and Lydia (Carpenter) Cocking (1898-1979), and the brother of Stephen Cocking (1923-1953), and Jean Cocking (b. 1928). His father was born in Louth, Lincolnshire, England, and his mother, in Coleford in Gloucestershire. His father served as a stoker in the Royal Navy during the First World War. The family was living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1919 when Norman was born in February of 1919. By 1921, the family had returned to the UK. In 1935, Norman worked for the Royal Mail and was living in Lydney, Gloucestershire. At the time of his enlistment, he was living in Coleford, Gloucestershire. After enlisting in the Royal Air Force, Norman was stationed with the Headquarters of the British Air Forces in France (BAFF) in May and June of 1940, early in the Second World War during the fall of France. The headquarters of BAFF were at Chauny, next to the HQ of François d'Astier de La Vigerie, the French air commander, to maximise co-operation between the BAFF and the French Armée de l'Air. BAFF HQ moved to Coulommiers, thence to Château Rezé, Pornic south of Nantes on June 16, 1940. The Advanced Air Striking Force (AASF) HQ was based at Château Polignac near Reims, moved to Troyes on May 15, Muides near Blois on June 3, and finally Nantes on June 10th. In addition to Operation Dynamo (May 26-June 4, 1940) at Dunkirk and the lesser‑known Operation Cycle (June 10-13, 1940) from Le Havre, a series of smaller withdrawals took place along the northern and western coasts of France. The final phase of these efforts was conducted under Operation Aerial (June 14-25, 1940), which evacuated Allied troops and civilians from the ports of St. Nazaire, Nantes, Brest, La Pallice, and Bordeaux. Norman was one of over 6000-9000 military personnel and civilians attempting to flee France, evacuating on the RMT Lancastria. On June 17, 1940, the RMS Lancastria was sunk by German aircraft shortly after departing Saint‑Nazaire. Bomb strikes caused the ship to capsize and sink rapidly, trapping thousands inside. More than 4,000 people are believed to have died in what remains Britain’s worst maritime disaster. Although 2,477 survivors were recorded, the true number of those lost cannot be determined. Winston Churchill ordered news of the tragedy to be suppressed. He later admitted in his memoirs that he feared the public could not absorb another catastrophe so soon after Dunkirk, saying there had been “quite enough disaster for today.” As a result, the scale of the loss was not reported in British newspapers at the time, and details remained censored for years. Several accounts describe how, amid the chaos of the sinking, groups of soldiers and evacuees began singing patriotic songs. One often‑repeated detail recalls men trapped on deck or clinging to the hull joining in “There’ll Always Be an England” as the ship listed and began to go down. Other testimonies remember that as the vessel started to capsize, voices rose to sing “Roll Out the Barrel.” A Royal Air Force casualty, Corporal Norman Cocking is remembered on the Runnymede Memorial which commemorates over 20,000 service men and women of the Commonwealth air forces who died during operations from bases in the UK and Europe, with many having no known grave.