COOK, George Oswald
| Service Number: | 14498 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Sapper |
| Last Unit: | Field Company Engineers |
| Born: | Beaudesert, Queensland, Australia, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Maroon, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Maroon State School, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Carpenter |
| Died: | Meningitis, At sea, 16 August 1916, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Hollybrook Memorial, Southampton, England |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Boonah War Memorial, Brisbane Logan & Albert 9th Battalion Honour Roll, Hollybrook Memorial, Southampton, Maroon War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Jul 1916: | Involvement Sapper, 14498, Field Company Engineers, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Vestalia embarkation_ship_number: A44 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Jul 1916: | Embarked Sapper, 14498, Field Company Engineers, HMAT Vestalia, Sydney | |
| 16 Aug 1916: | Involvement Sapper, 14498, Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 14498 awm_unit: 5th Australian Divisional Engineers awm_rank: Sapper awm_died_date: 1916-08-16 |
Military History
George Oswald Cook #14498 5th Divisional Engineers
George Cook was born at Cotswold near Rathdowney and attended Maroon State School. During his teenage years he served in the Military Cadets at Wynnum Manly. He also trained as a carpenter and it is possible that he was living with his first cousin, Algernon Cook at Ormiston during this time. Algernon was also a carpenter and George may have been apprenticed to him.
George enlisted in Brisbane on 2nd November 1915. His cousin, Algernon, enlisted the following day. George was 18 years and 7 months old and he was allotted to a depot battalion at Enoggera before being drafted into the 5th Division Engineers who were based at Moore Park in Sydney.
George embarked for overseas on the “Vestalia” in Sydney on 11th July 1916. While the Vestalia was at sea in the southern Indian Ocean, George reported to the ship’s hospital with fever and severe headache. He died of meningitis on 16th August and was buried at sea. Once the Vestalia was within radio range of Capetown, the news of Georges’s death was relayed to the military authorities. The news was then passed on to Base Records in Melbourne for transmission to George’s father Tom.
George Cook is commemorated on the Hollybrook Memorial at Southampton along with 1900 other service personnel who died at sea. The most famous person listed on the memorial is Field Marshall Lord Kitchener who was lost at sea when his ship struck a mine in the North Sea.
Submitted 9 February 2021 by Ian Lang
Biography contributed by Ian Lang
George Oswald Cook #14498 5th Divisional Engineers
George Cook was born at Cotswold near Rathdowney and attended Maroon State School. During his teenage years he served in the Military Cadets at Wynnum Manly. He also trained as a carpenter and it is possible that he was living with his first cousin, Algernon Cook at Ormiston during this time. Algernon was also a carpenter and George may have been apprenticed to him.
George enlisted in Brisbane on 2nd November 1915. His cousin, Algernon, enlisted the following day. George was 18 years and 7 months old and he was allotted to a depot battalion at Enoggera before being drafted into the 5th Division Engineers who were based at Moore Park in Sydney.
George embarked for overseas on the “Vestalia” in Sydney on 11th July 1916. While the Vestalia was at sea in the southern Indian Ocean, George reported to the ship’s hospital with fever and severe headache. He died of meningitis on 16th August and was buried at sea. Once the Vestalia was within radio range of Capetown, the news of George’s death was relayed to the military authorities. The news was then passed on to Base Records in Melbourne for transmission to George’s father Tom.
George Cook is commemorated on the Hollybrook Memorial at Southampton along with 1900 other service personnel who died at sea. The most famous person listed on the memorial is Field Marshall Lord Kitchener who was lost at sea when his ship struck a mine in the North Sea.
Biography contributed by Cathy Sedgwick
The summary below was completed by Cathy Sedgwick – Facebook “WW1 Australian War Graves in England/UK/Scotland/Ireland”
Died on this date – 16th August…… George Oswald Cook was born at Cotswold, near Beaudesert, Queensland on 4th April, 1897.
He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) on 2nd November, 1915 as a 19 year old, single, Carpenter from Brisbane, Queensland.
Sapper George Oswald Cook, Service number 14498, embarked from Sydney, New South Wales on HMAT Vestalia (A44) on 11th July, 1916 with the Field Company Engineers – July, 1916 Reinforcements.
He was admitted to Ship’s Hospital on 13th August, 1916.
The Hospital Admissions form recorded the following: “Patient had been attending sick parades for several days with a cold. His temperature was normal. On 13: Aug: 1916 the temperature was 101°, and he was admitted to hospital, complaining of headache and cough. On 14: 5:16, the temperature dropped to normal in the morning, and patient felt much better. The temperature rose to 100° in the evening, and the headaches returned; he now began to suffer from vomiting after taking anything by the mouth……”
Sapper George Oswald Cook died at 5 am on 16th August, 1916 at Sea on board HMAT Vestalia (A44) from Meningitis. A correction was made on Statement of Service form in the Service Record file for Sapper Cook which recorded “delete complete entry 19/105E” which states he died of Meningitis & this was replaced with died of Heart failure.
From Ships Order, Vestalia, 30th August, 1916: “On Wednesday, 16th August at 5 am Sapper George Oswald Cook No. 14498, July Reinforcements, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th Div. Field Company Engineers, died and was buried at sea at 11.15 am. The cause of death was suspected Meningitis.”
He was buried at Sea at 11.15 am on 16th August, 1916 from HMAT Vestalia (A44). He is commemorated on the Hollybrook Memorial, Southampton, Hampshire, England as he has no grave. His death is acknowledged by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
(The above is a summary of my research. The full research can be found by following the link below)
https://ww1austburialsuk.weebly.com/c---f.html
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