COOKE, Clarence Charles
| Service Number: | 2128 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 February 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Norwood, South Australia , date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Croydon Park, Port Adelaide Enfield, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Printer |
| Died: | Murray Bridge, South Australia , 17 March 1955, cause of death not yet discovered, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Murray Bridge (Adelaide Road) Cemetery, S.A. |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Feb 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Jun 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2128, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Borda embarkation_ship_number: A30 public_note: '' | |
| 6 Aug 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2128, 10th Infantry Battalion, The August Offensive - Lone Pine, Suvla Bay, Sari Bair, The Nek and Hill 60 - Gallipoli | |
| 20 Sep 1917: | Honoured Military Medal, Menin Road | |
| 8 Oct 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Corporal, 2128, 10th Infantry Battalion, Raid on Celtic Wood, Survivor | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 2128, 10th Infantry Battalion |
Awarded the Military Medal - Menin Road
'During the operations of the 19/22nd September, 1917, at POLYGON WOOD, east of YPRES, Cpl. COOKE displayed great resourcefulness and courage when in command of a Lewis Gun Section. His team was sent forward to man an outpost position and when a shell blew out his team he got his gun in order and manned the post alone until such time as he could get a signal back for reinforcements. By his dogged determination to hang on, although badly shaken, he set a great example and materially helped in keeping the enemy down and allowing his consolidation to proceed.'
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 31
Date: 7 March 1918
Submitted 7 January 2018 by Steve Larkins
Biography contributed by Robert Kearney
Raid on Celtiic Wood
2128 Corporal Clarence Charles Cooke MM a printer from Croydon Park, South Australia, joined the 10th Battalion at Gallipoli in August 1915. In September 1917, he was awarded Belgium’s Decoration Militaire for conspicuous service at Bullecourt, and then on 31 October, the MM for bravery at Polygon Wood.
He was in C Company at the time of the raid on Celtic Wood and his service record shows he was promoted vice Sergeant Cole on 8 October 1917.[i]
In raid sergeant William Cole’s Red Cross File is a record of interview typed by a Red Cross searcher in which credible witness Sergeant R. Wells when talking about the fate of Cole said, Cole was ‘killed in No Man’s Land and there was little if any chance of burial. Sgt Cook [sic] C Coy (with Coy.) was Cpl. with the party and came back as senior N.C.O. in charge.’ [ii]
Cooke was one of the 19 unwounded men who participated in the raid. However he was wounded in 1918 and returned to Australia in January 1919.
[i] National Archives of Australia, B 2455, Cooke Clarence Charles / 3401539, viewed 14 May 2012.
[ii] Witness statements can be read on the Australian War Memorial website - Australian Red Cross Society Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau Files, - 1DRL / 0428
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