Early Life
Charles Cooper was born in Paris, France, in 1893 and spent his early years in France and Spain. He was the son of Charles Renard Cooper, a British traveling actor and theatrical manager. His mother was Franco-Spanish, and died when Cooper was very young. Following his mother's death Cooper's father moved Charles, his twin sister Judy and elder sister Lettie back to his native country, and set up a family home in Malden.
On leaving school, Charles Cooper was taken on as an apprentice at Napier & Son's engineering works in Acton. It was while working at the Napier plant that Cooper got his first taste of motor sport, working on the racing and record-breaking cars of company director and pioneering driver Selwyn Edge. Soon after completing his apprenticeship World War I broke out. Britain declared war on 3 August 1914, and only three weeks later Cooper enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps. He saw active service throughout the war, invalided home after being gassed during the capture of Valenciennes in late 1918, only weeks before the signing of the Armistice with Germany.
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