Thomas Cooke

Thomas Cooke, VC (5 July 1881 – 25 July 1916) was a New Zealand-born soldier who served in the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War. He was a recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Born in Kaikoura to English immigrants, Cooke became a carpenter after finishing school. He moved to Australia in 1912, taking his young family with him, and settled in Melbourne. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in February 1915. After training he embarked for the Middle East and on arrival was posted to 8th Battalion. Soon his battalion was serving in the Somme sectoron the Western Front. He fought in the Battle of Pozières during which he was killed. He was posthumously awarded the VC for his actions in staying at his post in the face of a German attack.

Cooke was born in Kaikoura, in the Marlborough District of New Zealand, on 5 July 1881, to an Englishman, Tom Cooke, and his wife Caroline (née Cooper). Educated at Kaikoura District High School, the family later moved to Wellington where Cooke became a carpenter like his father. He also played the cornet and was part of a band. In 1902, he married Maud Elizabeth Elliott and the couple had three children, two girls and a boy. In June 1912, he moved his young family to Australia and settled in the suburb of Richmond, in Melbourne, where he worked as a builder.

In February 1915, Cooke enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) for service abroad in the First World War. He was posted to the 24th Battalion as a reinforcement upon completion of his training at Broadmeadows and embarked for the Middle East aboard the HMAT Commonwealth. His posting proved relatively short-lived for after he arrived in the Middle East, he was transferred to 8th Battalion.

The 8th Battalion, as part of the 2nd Infantry Brigade, 1st Australian Division, arrived on the Western Front in April 1916 and was initially stationed in the Fleurbaix and then the Messines sectors. By this time Cooke had reverted to his original rank of private, having spent a period of time as an acting corporal. As part of the 1st Division, in mid-July, it was moved to the Somme sector for the upcoming Somme Offensive.

On 24 July 1916, the battalion entered the Battle of Pozières. On 25 July, it was seeking to consolidate the Australian positions around Pozières. Cooke, operating a Lewis gun, was sent forward with his assistants to stabilise an unsafe section of the line. He and his companions secured the area but was exposed to long range machine-gun fire which soon accounted for all but Cooke. Even after running out of ammunition, he continued to man his post in the face of a German counterattack during which he was killed. The battalion was withdrawn from the front lines two days later, having incurred 347 casualties.

Cooke was recommended for the Victoria Cross (VC) for his actions of 25 July. At the time, the VC, instituted in 1856, was the highest gallantry award that could be bestowed on a soldier of the British Empire. The award of the VC to Cooke was gazetted on 9 September 1916 and the citation read as follows:

For most conspicuous bravery.After a Lewis gun had been disabled, he was ordered to take his gun and gun-team to a dangerous part of the line. Here he did fine work, but came under very heavy fire, with the result that finally he was the only man left. He still stuck to his post, and continued to fire his gun. When assistance was sent he was found dead beside his gun. He set a splendid example of determination and devotion to duty.

— London Gazette, 9 September 1916

Cooke's wife was unaware of the award of the VC to her husband until reading of it in newspaper reports. The medal was eventually presented to her by Arthur Foljambe, the Governor-General of New Zealand, in a ceremony at Government House in Wellington on 31 January 1917. His wife, who had returned to Wellington at the time of Cooke's enlistment in the AIF, later remarried. Cooke has no known grave and his name is recorded on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial and also on the war memorial in his town of birth, Kaikoura.

Cooke's medals, which in addition to the VC included the British War Medal and Victory Medal, are displayed at the National Army Museum at Waiouru in New Zealand. In 2010, a newly built barracks building at the Linton Military Camp was named for Cooke; several of his descendants were present at the opening ceremony.