Did Frederick Arthur Cooke survive TB, war, and covid?
Yes. Frederick Arthur Cooke survived TB during World war II and covid before his demise.
Fred would go on to suffer from a number of catastrophic illnesses during his life, but he ‘never gave up even when doctors told him he only had a 5% chance of surviving.
He contracted Covid in April 2020 at the age of 96, before receiving the vaccine, but recovered after 14 days.
Fred died peacefully on April 8th, leaving three sons, three granddaughters, and three great-grandchildren behind.
Frederick Arthur Cooke, born in Birkenhead in January 1924, joined the Royal Navy “as soon as he could” during WWII.
Fred, dubbed ‘the cat’ by his family because he had so many lives,’ trained on British beaches for the D-Day landing and sailed to France on the Landing Craft LCT2289, assisting in the transport of troops and tanks.
After contracting tuberculosis and spending a year rehabilitating in Cheshire, his service came to an end.
“He only told his family a few stories about the war,” Derek added, “but one was how terrifyingly noisy it was with missiles and bullets flying overhead.” This most likely contributed to his later loss of hearing.
“However, he was ecstatic to have served his nation and never stopped bragging about his admiration for the navy.”
