Patrick Bernard Coote (7 January 1910 – 19 April 1941) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

bobsled Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

der,

Irish international The Irish Future Series or ''Irish International'' is an international badminton tournament held in Ireland. This tournament has been a BWF Future Series, Future Series level, another tournament for higher tournament level is Irish Open (badminton) ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

pilot. He played rugby for

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

between 1931–33.

Profile

Coote was born on 7 January 1910 in Eton,

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

and attended Woking County School. He married Muriel Elsmie on the 1 June 1935.

Bobsleigh

He represented Britain and the RAF and won the bronze medal in the four-man event at the 1931 FIBT World Championships in St. Moritz, along with Pilot Officer

Dennis Field Dennis Brian Douglas Field (died 6 June 1940) was a British bobsledder who competed in the early 1930s. He won the bronze medal in the four-man event at the 1931 FIBT World Championships in St. Moritz. Field was a member of the Royal Air Forc ...

(steersman), Pilot Officer Ralph Wallace and Pilot Officer

Jack Newcombe Jack Stewart Newcombe (1910-1931) was a British bobsledder who competed in the early 1930s. He won the bronze medal in the four-man event at the 1931 FIBT World Championships in St. Moritz. Bobsleigh Newcombe was the brakeman and a member of ...

(brakeman).

Rugby

In January 1928 Coote played his first game for the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

against

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, he also represented the RAF in 1931 and 1932. Coote made his

debut on 10 October 1931 at Kingsholm against

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

in a 12-6 defeat. He was described as a superb centre, scoring three tries in as many games in December 1931 against Backheath, Birkenhead Park and the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

. In 1932-33 season he established a centre partnership with fellow Irishman

Morgan Crowe Morgan Patrick Crowe (5 March 1907 – 8 April 1993) was a rugby union centre who played thirteen times for between 1929–34. He played his club rugby for Leicester Tigers and Lansdowne. Crowe made his international debut for on 9 ...

and was first choice goal kicker; despite only featuring in 16 games for the Tigers he was the seasons' top points scorer with 56. This season Coote also won his sole cap, playing against at

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...

in the

1933 Home Nations Championship The 1933 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-ninth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Five Nations, and prior to that, the Home Nations, this was the forty-sixth series of the nort ...

. Coote's rugby career was cut short by a bad injury on 18 November 1933 whilst playing for

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

in a game against

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

at their St Helen's ground. Coote damaged his neck in a tackle during the game but carried on, scoring a penalty in an 8-6 defeat; later, on the train home he collapsed and had to be taken to an RAF hospital. He stayed for 3 months before he could be discharged and never played rugby again.

Royal Air Force

Coote joined the Royal Air Force as a flight cadet and passed through RAF Cranwell on 26 July 1930 becoming a Pilot Officer. Coote competed for the "Sword of Honour" award at the end of his two-year course, and beat

Douglas Bader Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader, (; 21 February 1910 – 5 September 1982) was a Royal Air Force flying ace during the Second World War. He was credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared ...

, his nearest rival. Coote went on to become the Wing Commander of Western Wing, British Air Forces Greece.

Death

Coote died while flying as an observer in a No. 211 Squadron

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...

; there are conflicting reports of the date as some sources say 13 April 1941 whilst others give it as 19 April 1941. The aircraft in which he was flying, was likely shot down by ''Unteroffizier''

Fritz Gromotka Fritz Gromotka (2 June 1915 – 2 November 1979) was a Luftwaffe fighter ace, ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. Fritz Gromotka was credited with 29 aerial victories, 27 on the Western Front and 2 on ...

. He is buried at the Phalron War Cemetery in Greece along with the rest of the crew.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coote, Paddy British male bobsledders 1910 births 1941 deaths Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II Ireland international rugby union players Leicester Tigers players Rugby union centres People from Eton, Berkshire Royal Air Force wing commanders Royal Air Force rugby union players Military personnel from Buckinghamshire Burials in Greece