Sergeant Major Cook, who died on July 31st, 1968, joined the 7th Hussars from the 6th Bn Middlesex Regiment in November 1910 and was present with the Regiment all through the Mesopotamian Campaign.
He was awarded the Military Medal for his gallantry and coolness in action at the Battle of Sharquat on October 28th, 1918, where the Regiment, under the command of the late Lt Col William Gibbs, having forded the Lesser Zab and the River Tigris, and after heavy casualties in men and horses, cut off
the retreat of the main Turkish army on the Mosul road and was largely instrumental in the capture of a large body of Turks and their guns and equipment.
At that time Cook was a Corporal in “A” Squadron, but after the heavy casualties incurred in the fighting at Sharquat “A” and “D” Squadrons were combined into one and he had to assume the responsibilities of a Troop Leader-a duty which he carried out to perfection.
On the return of the Regiment to York, after the war, he was selected to do a course at the Cavalry School at Netheravon, where he distinguished himself as an accomplished horseman.
After some years spent in training recruits and remounts, he was specially chosen as the Permanent Staff Sergeant Major Instructor to the Melton Mowbray Squadron of the Leicestershire Yeomanry, where his fine qualities as an instructor and his agreeable personality made him a popular member of the staff, and where he was much appreciated by the officers and all ranks of the Yeomanry.
He was a keen, and much-respected member of the Old Comrades’ Association, and his presence at future reunions and dinners will be much missed.
Our sympathies go out to his wife and family.