Son of Herbert and Florence Amelia Cooke, stepson of Mr. F. D. Laland, of Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia. A clerk in the Public Works Department in Salisbury. Educated at Chaplin School, Gwelo and Prince Edward School, Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia. He won a cup for boxing at school. His twin brother, Sergeant (Air Gnr.) Harold Cooke, also died on service.
DFC LG Sup 4 August 1942 pg. 3410 - "As a pilot he is outstanding. Apart from routine raids he has to his credit many outstanding feats of courage, skill and endurance. During raids on Lubeck and Rostock he performed valiant work."; DFM LG Sup 13 March 1942 pg. 1164 "This airman has participated in operational flying since September, 1941. He has captained his aircraft with a high degree of success when operating against targets as Essen, Cologne, Bremen, Kiel, Brest. His determination is such that after bombing he has frequently descended to low levels in order to machine-gun searchlight positions, gun posts and aerodromes. He bombed Kiel from 7,000 feet in the face of fierce opposition and on another occasion attacked Huls from only 4,000 feet. One night in November, 1941 he successfully placed a mine in a Norwegian fjord, then bombed docks at Oslo from 300 feet and machine-gunned an aerodrome nearby. He took part in two daylight raids over North-Western Germany, during which he displayed great skill and courage in accomplishing low-level bombing and machine-gun attacks. Throughout this airman has displayed out-standing zeal and initiative."