Location
The window is in the South Tower (see Cathedral Plan).
ROYAL NAVY
LT. COL. A.D.B. COCKS R.E.
MARJORIE du C. STANDAGE
DOROTHY L. CHADS
GILLIAN H LAUGHTON
Further Information
In 1991 the construction of the Cathedral was finally completed, the west end having remained bricked up since World War 2 when building work was halted. As a way of raising money for the work individuals were invited to contribute financially to specific areas of the Cathedral. One of those who provided funds was Gillian Laughton who belatedly discovered that she had paid for the stone surround to one of the windows in the south-west tower, rather than for the window itself. As she was determined to raise a memorial to her husband and other members of her family she also provided resources for the window.
The memorial is to Gillian Laughton's husband, Captain Laughton, her father, Lt Col. Cocks, her mother Marjorie Standage (formerly Cocks) and her aunt Dorothy Lillian Chads. The memorial contains several emblems; the Naval Crown, a drawing of a Cock, red roses for Marjorie Standage and Lilies for Dorothy Chads. Gillian Laughton's own name was added to the memorial shortly after her death in 2011.
Lt. Col. Cocks was in the first group of Royal Engineers who landed in Normandy during D-Day and gained the unfortunate distinction of being the first officer killed that day. His pennant, which was flown on his tank in now in the Royal Engineers Museum. Information concerning his death and the Engineers experience on D-Day can be found in the book 'Down Ramps' by Lt. Lambton Burn RNVR.
A painting of the events on Sword Beach, which includes the landing craft in which Colonel Cocks died, has been made by military artist David Thorp. It is to be sold, along with prints taken from it, in aid of the Combined Operations memorial at the National Arboretum. The painting can be seen at www.combinedops.com.
[Thanks to Tony Chapman for information about the painting]
