Bridlington author's search for relatives of the town's unsung war heroes to give them memorial they deserve

Author Richard Jones wants to celebrate the bravery of both Kenneth Cooke and Ernest Victor Barker.

The two men earned the George Medal for their courageous actions during World War II and Mr Jones would like to put up commemorative plaques in their honour, but needs their families’ permission to do so.

Mr Jones said: “I have recently been made aware that the town had two heroes who were both awarded the George Medal, yet are not commemorated or remembered anywhere.

"I am writing a book on Bridlington during the Second World War and these two heroes deserve proper recognition in the town.

"On March 19, 1943, the SS Lulworth Hill was torpedoed and sunk off the African coast by an Italian submarine and a number of survivors found themselves on a raft now adrift, among them were Bridlington sailors Norman Fowler and Kenneth Cooke.

"When a ship finally located the raft and was able to rescue the survivors, only two remained – a Hull man and Bridlington's Kenneth Cooke.

"Cooke had barely survived but had written a diary of when each person on the raft had died so that their families would know.

"The second Brid hero is Ernest Victor Barker, a man who worked for LNER and was in Bridlington train station when the town was hit by a German air raid on July 11, 1940.

"Five people died on Hilderthorpe Road as bombs rained down, one of which started a fire on a train full of ammunition in the railway station.

"Instead of running for their lives, the railway workers got to work doing damage limitation, Barker spraying the ammunition train so that the fire would not ignite it and send a devastating explosion across the streets nearby.

"Without stopping, he was successful and his bravery earned him the George Medal. His actions actually preceded that of Thomas Alderson who would go on to be the first recipient of the George Cross for his actions a month later.

“These two people are Bridlington heroes and as such they should be celebrated for what they did.”

Email [email protected] or [email protected] if you are able to help Mr Jones’ locate the families.