Cook, CB
(1898 - 1917)
Key Facts
DATE OF BIRTH:
12th November 1898
YEARS ATTENDED THE COLLEGE:
1912 - 1916
HOME ADDRESS WHEN AT THE COLLEGE:
60 Hayes Road, Bromley
REGIMENT
Royal Naval Air Service
FINAL RANK:
Flight Sub Lieutenant
DATE OF DEATH:
20th August 1917
AGE AT DEATH:
18
WHERE HE DIED (or was wounded)
Dover
LOCATION OF GRAVE OR MEMORIAL:
Hayes (St. Mary) Churchyard, Bromley
Flight Sub Lieutenant Cecil Barnaby Cook
Born on November 12th 1898, Cecil was the second son of lithographer Herbert Cook and his wife Laura. He went on to follow his elder brother Esmond to the College, and was a member of the Science and Engineering class in the Lower Fifth when he left Dulwich in the summer of 1916.
Upon leaving he took up a position with the War Office, serving as an assistant in the Aeronautical Designing Department, as he was, at that point, not yet old enough for military service. Having turned 18 in late 1916 Cecil subsequently did join up, and in April 1917 was given a commission in the Royal Naval Reserve – at which juncture he elected to remain in England in order to train as a pilot. He earned his “wings” as a fully qualified pilot in July and, shortly after, was ordered to Dover with the intention of proceeding on to Dunkirk and the Western Front from there. On 20th August he was not far from Dover when his aircraft’s wing collapsed whilst at a height of around 2,500 feet and he was fatally wounded in the crash.