A DECADES-old mystery involving the family of a war hero from Tingha has finally been solved.
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Irish sleuth Dennis Burke has spent the past 23 years trying to find relatives of Norman Athol Cooper, a soldier killed in a tragic accident in World War II.
He wanted to write a memorial to Mr Burke and in so doing, contact any surviving relatives who could help piece together the war hero's life from the other side of the world.
Flight sergeant Cooper was just 25 when he died in a tragic accident over the skies of Ireland in 1944.
He was one of 19 Australian airmen who were part of 59 Squadron, stationed in Ireland during World War II.
The only information Mr Burke had about Flt Sgt Cooper was he was killed when three aircraft crashed in three separate accidents June 19, 1944.
Within days of the article appearing, a niece and nephew of Flt Sgt Cooper came forward to help solve the mystery.
Inverell resident Rhonda Ticehurst, 76, is Flt Sgt Cooper's last surviving niece.
"His mother and father, siblings and all his mates are long dead," Ms Ticehurst said.
She remembers little of her long-lost uncle, however, she recalls his bedroom in the family home in Tingha. It was kept as a shrine to the son who never returned home.
"No one was allowed to enter that bedroom and it was kept just as Norman had left it," Ms Ticehurst said.
"His death wasn't talked about, it was just too sad.
"All I was told was Dad had a brother who was killed and buried in Ireland.
"Norman was the youngest child and as such, very much loved.
"He was also the family's only child who went to serve in World War II.
"That's because my dad had a tin mine and they wanted us to work the mine for tin to make bullets.
"Norman was a carpenter and had been a tin miner with my dad, Alf Cooper.
"My dad was the eldest, then two daughters, Grace and Gwennie and then Norman.
"He was the baby of the family."
Ms Ticehurst has reached out to Mr Burke with this familial information and hopes he can enlighten the family on their uncle's war record.
"A few years ago I applied for a replica of his medals, so now I am the custodian of my uncle's medals, which means a lot to me.
"I was told Norman had been helping monitoring the [North Channel] for Japanese submarines and boats as well as carrying out reconnaissance work."
Flt Sgt Cooper's nephew, Ross Lute, of Gilgai, also read the initial article.
He is the son of Norman's sister Grace.
"Very little was talked about regarding Norman as the family were devastated by what had happened, so it was never discussed," Mr Lute said.
"Mum would say that he was lost at sea and didn't know where, as this is what they had been told initially but corrected later."
Norman's final resting place is in the Tamlaght Finlagan Church of Ireland graveyard.
He lies next to another Australian, fellow Flight Sergeant Kenneth John Nielsen, of Hamilton, NSW, who also died in the same aircraft accident on June 19, 1944. Kenneth was aged just 20.
"This project allows me to create an online internet memorial for these young men whose lives were lost so far from their homes," Mr Burke said.
He said he would try to visit Flt Sgt Cooper's grave in the next few months.
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