Cork proved highly effective flying Hurricanes in the Battle of Britain. He was awarded the DFC, but the Admiralty was not happy with a Naval officer sporting this decoration and it was quickly exchanged for the DSC.
On 7 September 1940, the day of the first major German attack on London, Sub Lieutenant Cork was injured in combat. Paul Brickhill’s book Reach for the Sky says that Cork was hit in the face and eyes by glass splinters and, on landing, he insisted that he was OK, but was sent off in an ambulance by the CO, Squadron Leader Bader.
Later in the war, back in the FAA and flying from carriers, Cork took part in operations against French aircraft in Madagascar and defended the Pedestal convoy, resupplying Malta. He was awarded the DSO and became a wing leader on HMS Illustrious. On 14 April 1944 he was killed in a landing accident at China Bay, Ceylon.
