York’s last surviving D-Day veteran has said he is very humbled to have been awarded a top honour for his services to the city.
Ken Cooke said he could not believe that he had been given the Freedom of the City of York when he first heard the news.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he felt the honour was also for his comrades who fought alongside him during the Second World War.
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Mr Cooke, 100, spoke ahead of a special York Council meeting where he was made an Honorary Freeman of the City yesterday (Thursday).
Meeting papers stated the honour was being awarded to recognise the veteran’s exceptional services to the people and city of York.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Mr Cooke said receiving the Freedom of the City was a great honour.
The 100-year-old said: “When I was informed I’d been awarded this honour I was gobsmacked.
“I’m a miner’s son from Nottinghamshire and I was born during the General Strike, we had nothing.
“Now they want to give me the Freedom of the City of York.
“I’ve lived in York for 80 years now so I think I’ve qualified now.
“This is for all my comrades too, every award I get given always includes them.
“Sometimes when I’m at home and I’m sat in my chair watching TV or reading the paper my brain clicks and it takes me back to Normandy, some veterans can’t get rid of those memories.
“That comes out for me when I talk to children in schools and when people mention it, and I tell my stories.
“I’m just an ordinary chap who joined the Army and whose been through D-Day, then I came to live and work in York, I’m very humbled by this.”
Cllr Martin Rowley, the council’s Armed Forces Advocate who nominated Mr Cooke for the honour, said he was a living legend.
The Conservative councillor said: “We’ve got lots of treasures in York but none of them are alive to tell a story, Ken is and the impact of what he does ripples throughout the city.”
Cllr Claire Douglas, the council’s Labour leader, said Mr Cooke’s work including educating young people about the horrors of war was hugely important.
The Labour council leader said: “He has lived experience and that can’t be underestimated, I can’t imagine anyone who deserves this more.”
Lord Mayor Cllr Margaret Wells said she was overjoyed to be part of awarding the veteran the highest honour the council could give.
Cllr Wells said: “He thoroughly deserves it, not just because he’s a war hero but also because of what he does now with his work going into schools, and he has a fantastic sense of humour.”
York Central MP Rachael Maskell said she hoped the veteran would cherish the day he received the honour.
The Labour MP said: “Ken’s always been there for our city and this is about honouring someone whose given us so much over the years.”
Mr Cooke was born on August 8, 1925 and enlisted in the British Army’s Green Howards infantry regiment aged 18.
He landed on Normandy’s Gold Beach on June 6, 1944 in Operation Overlord, beginning the Allied liberation of western Europe from Nazi occupation.
The veteran settled in York after the war and worked at the city’s Rowntree factory where he met his wife Joan.
He has since served as an ambassador for Normandy veterans including by laying wreaths on Remembrance Day and speaking to school children to ensure veterans’ sacrifices are not forgotten.
