Cockram, William Ewart (Air Commodore (Honourary))

1946-02-22 Cockram died of a heart attack, age 47.

Royal Canadian Air Force Officer. A native of Dorsetshire, England, Cockram joined the British Army in 1914 at the age of 16 to serve his country during World War One. In 1917, Cockram was transferred to the Royal Flying Corps where he would serve with distinction as a pilot. After the war, he left the army and moved to Canada where he was ordained a minister. With the outbreak of World War Two, Cockram volunteered to serve as a protestant chaplain with the Royal Canadian Air Force. In 1940, he was assigned to serve as the first overseas chaplain at RCAF headquarters in London. In 1941, he returned to Canada and was assigned the post of Deputy Director of Chaplain Services. Retiring at the rank of Honorary Air Commodore in 1946, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire that same year for his war service.