TV presenter shares moving story about her granddad – one of the last surviving World War II veterans – as he proudly joins Anzac march at 99
- Les Cook lied about his age to sign up with his father to fight the Nazis in 1940
- Now aged 99, he is one of the few surviving Anzac veterans of World War Two
- His TV reporter grand-daughter Sophie Walsh aired a touching tribute to him
- Sophie Walsh said it was an honour to walk in his shadow on Anzac Day parade
Nine News reporter Sophie Walsh’s grandfather lied about his age to serve Australia in 1940 – and 82 years later, he’s one of the few survivors left alive from World War II.
But Les Cook, 99, will not let age weary him and marched in Canberra’s Anzac Day Parade on Monday as his proud grand-daughter paid tribute to her brave ‘Gramps’.
He admits it get harder to make the march every year: ‘Your hearing gets worse and your eyesight gets worse…but emotion gets stronger.’
Nine News reporter Sophie Walsh’s grandfather Les Cook lied about his age to serve Australia in 1940 – and 82 years later, he’s one of the few survivors left alive from World War II
He joined up alongside his father to fight the threat of Nazi Germany and both had to fake their ages to sign up.
‘He was four years too old and I was four years too young,’ Mr Cook told the Nine Network.
But he dismissed suggestions that he was a hero for putting his life on the line.
He told his grand-daughter: ‘It would have taken greater courage not to enlist…It was a responsibility.’
Les Cook served seven years in the Australian Imperial Force which saw him serve in North Africa, Greece, Crete, Borneo and Syria
Mr Cook ended up spending seven years in the Australian Imperial Force which saw him serve in North Africa, Greece, Crete, Borneo and Syria.
He married wife Betty while serving and says letters from her often kept him going, especially while in the dense jungles of the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea.
Les Cook was lying on a beach in Borneo when he heard the war had ended in 1945, with the news greeted by celebratory gunfire as word spread across the frontline
He was lying on a beach in Borneo when he heard the war had ended in 1945, with the news greeted by celebratory gunfire as word spread across the frontline.
He later returned to the Kokoda Trail for the 50th anniversary and again in 2012 when he met Prince Charles, and later Princess Anne during the pandemic.
‘Gramps was spurred on by a sense of adventure, duty and a strong will to stop Nazi Germany,’ said Ms Walsh in a touching televised tribute to her grandfather.
She said it was an honour to walk in his shadow.
‘Gramps is one of the last remaining survivors of World War II and there will be many families whose loved ones are no longer here,’ she added.
‘But the Anzac legacy lives on in their children, their grandchildren, their great-grandchildren, sharing their stories of courage, of mateship, and sacrifice that ultimately shaped this country.’