Hull Pals Memorial Post. PRIVATE JOSEPH COOPER 14/36. Born in 1893, Joseph was one of seven children to William and Lucy Cooper of 23 Naylor Row, Witham, Hull. A Dock Labourer by trade he enlisted at Hull City Hall on 18th October 1915 joining the 14th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment before being transferred to the 11th Battalion upon his arrival in France in April 1916. A veteran of the Somme, Joseph was killed in action on 3rd May 1917 as the Pals attacked heavily fortified German positions in front of Oppy Wood. His death remained unconfirmed until 19th November when German authorities contacted their British counterparts to say they had identified remains as belonging to him. The whereabouts of any grave they may have dug for him remains a mystery and Joseph Cooper is commemorated on the Arras Memorial; he was 24 years old. BORN HULL 1893. HULL PAL. BROTHER FRANK & ROBERT ALSO SERVED. HIS WIDOW EVA LIVED ABOVE.
The attack on Oppy Wood, part of the Battle of Arras, was a significant battle for the East Yorkshire Regiment and particularly for the city of Hull. All four Hull Pals battalions were involved on 3 May and all suffered heavy casualties, with 40% of those present killed or injured. 2nd Lieutenant Jack Harrison, a local teacher and rugby player with Hull FC, won a posthumous Victoria Cross for his bravery in rushing a machine gun position to protect his platoon. His body was never found.
The village of Oppy in France had been in German hands since October 1914 and was part of a formidable defensive system including trenches, dug-outs and thick barbed wire defences. During the Battle of Arras, which began in April 1917, the British tried to take Oppy. The first attack was a failure. A second attack was partially successful. The third attack on 3 May, known officially as the Third Battle of the Scarpe, was again unsuccessful with significant loss of life. The troops were ordered to attack at 3.45am, rather than at dawn, and the defending Germans could easily see the line of British soldiers clearly lit by the full moon. The British continued to attack Oppy and were finally successful the following year. The City of Hull Memorial at Oppy was unveiled in 1927 and commemorates the men of the Hull Pals who were killed on 3 and 4 May 1917.
