COOKE, Clair Bernard
| Service Numbers: | S9848, SX27713 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 14 January 1941, Oakbank, SA |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | HQ 6 Australian Division |
| Born: | Kanmantoo, South Australia , 12 June 1920 |
| Home Town: | Kanmantoo, Mount Barker, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Callington Primary School, Kanmantoo, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Farm Labourer |
| Died: | Hope Valley, Tea Tree Gully, South Australia, 15 September 2001, aged 81 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Callington Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Kanmantoo Roll of Honor, Kanmantoo War Memorial |
World War 2 Service
| 14 Jan 1941: | Involvement Lance Corporal, S9848 | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Jan 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lance Corporal, S9848 | |
| 14 Jan 1941: | Enlisted Oakbank, SA | |
| 10 Feb 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, SX27713, HQ 6 Australian Division | |
| 4 Jul 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, SX27713, HQ 6 Australian Division , embarked Cairns for Port Moresby on board the Duntroon | |
| 21 Jul 1943: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lance Corporal, S9848 | |
| 21 Jul 1943: | Discharged | |
| 8 Sep 1944: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, SX27713, HQ 6 Australian Division , embarked Lae for Townsville on board the Taroona | |
| 2 Jan 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, SX27713, HQ 6 Australian Division , embarked Townsville for Jacquinot Bay on board the Taroona | |
| 1 Aug 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, SX27713, HQ 6 Australian Division , embarked Jacquinot Bay for Newcastle on board the Duntroon | |
| 26 Jun 1946: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, SX27713, HQ 6 Australian Division |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private Clair Bernard Cooke (Service Nos:S51419/SX27713) initially served in the ACMF (2 February 1942 - 9 December 1942) with 48th Infantry Battalion before enlisting in the AIF on 10 December 1942 with HQ 6 Infantry Brigade. Private Cooke served in New Guinea (9 July 1943 - 8 September 1944) and Jacquinot Bay (2 January 1945 - 1 August 19945), and was attached to HQ 6 Infantry Brigade at Discharge on 26 June 1946.
Clair was born in Kanmantoo, South Australia in 1920, eldest of three children of Bernard (Bernie) Cooke (b1890 in Kanmantoo, South Australia) and Bessie May Howland (b1893 in Nairne, South Australia) Bernie was a Clerk in Kanmantoo when he enlisted in the Army in 1915 (Lance Corporal; Service No:3534), and he and Bessie married in 1919 in Kanmantoo, where they settled and raised their family. Bernie worked as a Clerk and Labourer.
Clair worked in Kanmantoo as a Bacon Curer and Farm Labourer before enlisting in the Army. Following his Discharge, in 1946 in Adelaide, Clair married Betty Edith (b1925). The couple settled in Callington via Kanmantoo, where they raised their family and Clair was a Farmer. Clair died in 2001 and Betty died in 2018.
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