Couper, Neil Banks

Date of birth:: October 14th, 1922 (Oamaru, New Zealand)
Date of death:: September 20th, 1944 (Druten municipality)
Buried on:: Commonwealth War Graves Roman Catholic Churchyard Puiflijk
Service number:: 428783
Nationality:: New Zealander

Biography

Neil Banks Couper was born on 14 October, 1922, in Oamaru, New Zealand. He was the son of mr. and mrs. T.B. Couper and his father had a farm. In his youth he went to Waitaki Boys High School. He favored sports in general and particularly rugby, tennis and rifle shooting. After finishing his High School, he worked at his father’s farm, in Oamaru, probably until he joined the military service. Already in March, 1941, he sent his application for aircrew training.

Neil started to serve with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) on the 23th July, 1942, at the Initial Training Wing in Rotorua. On 5 September, after completion of this initial training, he was posted to the Elementary Flying Training School in Taieri, to receive his basic pilot training. On 24 December, 1942, he boarded a transport ship to leave New Zealand and sailed to Canada, to follow the Empire Air Training Scheme. On 7 January, 1943, Neil arrived in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and was initially assigned to No. 3 M-Depot. On 23 January he was then assigned to No. 7 Service Flying Training School in Macleod, Alberta, for his training as combat pilot. On 14 May he graduated and received his flying badge while getting promoted to the rank of Sergeant. On 23 June, 1943, Neil left Canada from No. 1 Y-Depot in Halifax, to be shipped to the United Kingdom.

On 3 July, 1943, he arrived at No. 12 (RNZAF) Personnel Reception Centre in Brighton, to get assigned on 10 July to No. 15 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit in Ramsbury, Wiltshire. Early October of the same year he went for training to No. 1532 Beam Approach Training Flight in Babdown Farm, Gloucestershire. After completing this course, on 9 November, 1943, he was posted to No. 10 Operational Training Unit, in Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire. In the same month, he was promoted to the rank of Flight Sergeant. In this unit he carried out an operational flight as pilot of a Whitley bomber to Alencon in France. On 18 February, 1944, Neil was transferred to No. 81 Operational Training Unit in Sleap, Shropshire, where he continued his training on Whitley bomber aircraft.

In early April 1944, he was assigned to No. 1655 Heavy Conversion Unit in Tilstock, Shropshire, to convert to the Stirling bomber aircraft. During this conversion training, on 4 July, 1944, he was commissioned in the rank of Pilot Officer. After completing the conversion training, on 1 September, 1944, he was assigned to No. 295 Squadron in Harwell, Berkshire (nowadays Oxfordshire). In this squadron he participated in another three operational flights as pilot of a Stirling, for supply dropping operations near Bar-le-Duc-Valency and Briare in France.

On 20 September, 1944, Pilot Officer Neil Banks Couper took off, as pilot of the Stirling IV bomber with number LJ618/8E-B, from Harwell, for an operation above the Netherlands in order to drop supplies near Oosterbeek to support the 1st Airborne Division in Arnhem. On approach to the drop zone, the aircraft came under heavy anti-aircraft fire, resulting in heavy damage to the plane. Despite the sustained damage, the crew was able to conduct the supply drop at the drop zone, while the craft was filling with smoke. After the dropping, the aircraft was hit again several times and was set on fire. Pilot Officer Couper ordered his crew to bale out. Most crew members did. Flight Sergeant Ken Nolan, the wireless operator, was the last crew member who managed to escape the burning aircraft. According to Ken, he helped Couper with his parachute and just after Ken escaped, the aircraft exploded with Couper still on board. The Stirling crashed on 15:20 local time in a field near the Waalbandijk between the villages Druten and Boven-Leeuwen.

Pilot Officer Neil Banks Couper from Oamaru, Nieuw Zeeland, 21 year old, died on 20 September 1944. He is buried at the Roman Catholic Churchyard in Puiflijk, Druten municipality, Gelderland province, the Netherlands.

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