Lt. Col. Sidney Fitz-Wyman Cooke
- Born: 17 May 1865, India 2
- Marriage (1): Alice Eliza Bancroft on 25 Aug
1896 in Farnborough, Hampshire 1
- Died: 24 Jan 1943, Orwell Lodge, Horsham aged
77 3
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Sidney was the eldest son in a family of six.
His father was an East India merchant and Sidney was born in Calcutta
in 1865.2
It
seems that he, his mother and three sisters returned to England not
long afterwards as Sidney's younger brother Reginald was born in London
in October 1866.4
Sidney's parents
settled in Ealing, London,5 and many years later moved to Eastbourne.
Sidney was sent to Rugby School where he entered Charles Elsee's House
in the Michaelmas term of 1879, aged 14; he left at the end of
Michaelmas term in 1883.6 In 1881, he was joined by his younger
brother Reginald who only remained there for one academic year before
moving to Elizabeth College, Guernsey.
Sidney decided to join the Army but, by the 1880s, commissions by
purchase had ceased and many, if not most, aspiring young officers
entered the Army by way of the Royal Military Academy or College
(Woolwich and Sandhurst) or through previous membership of a local
militia. In Sidney's case, he joined the South Wales Borderers Militia
based in Brecon (also, at one time, known as the Royal Brecon and
Radnor Rifles).7 It was from this militia that, he was
appointed a Lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion of the South Wales
Borderers in March 1885, receiving his commission into the 1st
Battalion in November 1886.8
For the next 20 years or so, Sidney served with the South Wales
Borderers.9 In 1891, he was based in Aldershot as a
Lieutenant; in 1893, he was promoted to Captain and appointed the
Adjutant of the 1st Battalion and saw service in Gibraltar (he must
have been on leave from that station when he married Alice in 1896
because it is reported that he spent four years there). It is not clear
where he served after marrying Alice but, wherever it was, he and she
were obviously together at times during the early years of their
marriage as their three sons were born between 1897 and 1901, the first
in London and the other two at Farnborough.
In August 1901, whilst still in India with the 1st Battalion (he must
have gone there in the latter half of 1900), Sidney was appointed
Adjutant of the 4th Volunteer Battalion stationed at Newport,
Monmouthshire.10 11
After four years
serving there, he retired from the Army in December 1905 with the rank
of Major and moved with his family to Eastbourne where his parents and
two unmarried sisters were living.
Sidney's years at Eastbourne were probably the height of his civilian
career; aged in his early 40s, he threw himself enthusiastically into
the civic life of the town. In 1907, he was elected a Conservative
Borough Councillor for the Redoubt ward and became an active member of
the Council12 rising
eventually to be "vice Mayor" before retiring in 1913.13 Unsurprisingly, as a prominent local Tory,
he was an active member of the Primrose League. He was president
of the Eastbourne and District Licensed Victuallers and Beer Retailers'
Association for many years, a role that sometimes brought him into
conflict with his fellow Councillors over licensing arrangements.14 He became Hon. Sec. of the Eastbourne
division of the British Red Cross Society and, in 1909, he took over
command of the Eastbourne Battalion of the Chichester Regiment of the
Church Lads' Brigade (a militarily orientated, "boy scout" movement
whose members served gallantly in WW I) and did much to grow its
membership. 15 He
also became an active member of the local Lodge of the Ancient Order of
Druids (a fraternal society with charitable leanings).
Sidney, who had remained on the Army Reserve of Officers, was recalled
to the South Wales Borderers in the early months of WW I. In December
1915, he was promoted to temporary Lieutenant Colonel and given command
of the 9th Welsh Regiment who were fighting in France. He led the 9th
with distinction (he was twice mentioned in dispatches) during 1916 and
the early months of 1917 in several engagements, notably The Battle of
the Somme, before relinquishing his command in June 1917. It has not
been confirmed whether he then returned to regimental duties with the
South Wales Borderers but in 1918, when he was granted the honorary
rank of Lieutenant Colonel, it was gazetted under that regiment.16
Following WW I, Sidney seems to have led a very much quieter life, at
least by comparison with his time at Eastbourne, and, surprisingly,
there are very few newspaper reports referring to him in any context
during the years he and Alice lived at Burgess Hill or Camberley or
even after they finally settled at Horsham in c. 1934/35.
Sidney died at Orwell Lodge, Horsham, in January 1943, 15 days before
the house was totally destroyed by enemy action. He left an estate
valued at c. £4200.17
Sidney married Alice Eliza Bancroft, daughter
of Lt. General William Charles Bancroft and Eliza Henrietta Miller, on
25 Aug 1896 in Farnborough, Hampshire.1
(Alice Eliza Bancroft was born on 30 Sep 1865 in 30 Talbot Terrace,
Bayswater, London 18
and died on 2 Mar 1945 in 43, Kings Road, Horsham 19.)
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Sources
1 Parish
Registers of England and Wales, Farnborough, St Peter Marriages
1896.
1899. Marriage solemnised at the [Parish Church in the Parish of
Farnborough in
the County of Southampton] . No. 28 - August 25 1896
Sidney Fitz -Wyman Cooke - Full [age] - Bachelor - Captain S. Wales
Borderers -
Farnborough - Robert Thomas Cooke - Gentlemen
Alice Eliza Bancroft - Full [age] - Spinster - - Knellwood Farnborough
-
William Charles Bancroft - Lieut. General
Married in the Parish Church according to the Rites and Ceremonies of
the
Established Church, by or after banns by me
???? [Unreadable signature]
This Marriage was solemnised between us, Sidney Fitz-Wyman Cooke, Alice
Eliza
Bancroft in the Presence of us, William Charles Bancroft, Florence
Blanche
Bancroft, Edith Maude Bancroft, Charles [unreadable surname].
2
"British Army Officer Records" (Records in the PRO, Kew, England
pertaining to officers who served the British Army), 1764-1932.
Name: Sidney Fitz Wyman Cooke; Marital status: Married; Rank: Captain;
Birth
Date: 17 May 1865; Birth Place: Calcutta; Enlistment Date: 1886
.
3 The Times
(London), Tuesday, February 2, 1943 Page 1 Col B DEATHS.
COOKE.- On Jan 24, 1943, at his home in Horsham, Lieut. Colonel Sidney
Fitzwyman Cooke, late 24th Regiment (South Wales borderers). Burial
took place
privately on Jan.27th. No letters.
4 "General
Register Office for England and Wales Index of Births, Deaths, and
Marriages", Qrt Dec 1866 Births.
Cooke - Reginald W - Kensington 1a 30
5 National
Census, 1871 - Name: Mary C Cooke*; Parish: Ealing; ED: 07; Piece:
1318;
Folio: 20; Household Sch'd No: 132 - Head - Wife of India Merchant. *
Sidney's mother.
6 School
Register/Record, Rugby School Register. - Volume III - From 1874 to
1877
inclusive - Revised and Annotated with Alphabetical Index. [Published]
Rugby:
A. J. Lawrence, London: Percival & Co.- MDCCCXCI [1891].In the
possession
of Harvard University Library of the Graduate.
Page 86 - September 1879
Cooke, Sydney Fitz Wyman, son of Robert Thomas Cooke, Esq., Elmhurst,
Castle
Bar, Ealing, aged 14, May 17. Left 1883.[1] Elsee
Gazetted in the 1st Battalion of the 24th Regiment, November
10, 1866. 24th
Regiment, South Camp, Aldershot.
7 Brecon
County Times, Friday 8 December 1905, Page 4 Col E MILITARY.
Major S. Fitz W. Cooke, who was promoted in the South Wales Borderers
only a
few weeks ago after having been adjutant of the Volunteers at Newport,
Mon.,
for four years, left the Army on pension on Saturday. The gallant major
commenced his career in the Militia at Brecon over twenty years ago,
and passed
into the old 24th in November, 1886. He was adjutant of the 1st
Battalion in
Gibraltar, etc., for four years, and served with it in India before
coming to
Monmouth.
8 Wilts
and Gloucestershire Standard, Saturday 16 October 1886, Page 5
MILITIA
COMMISSIONS FOR THE LINE.
S. Fitz W. Cooke, 3rd Battalion South Wales Borderers, 1,614; H. V. S.
Ormond,
3rd Battalion South Wales Borderers, 1,433;
9 London
Gazette, Various. ...
10 April 1885 Page 1627
3rd Battalion, the South Wales Borderers. The undermentioned Gentlemen
to be
Lieutenants :- Sydney Fitz-Wyman Cooke. Dated 25th March, 1885. William
WWalter
Gilbert Griffith. Dated 27th March, 1885. ...
9 November 1886 Page 5387
The South Wales Borderers, Lieutenant Sydney FitzWyman Cooke, from the
3rd
Battalion, to be Lieutenant, vice F. C. K. Hunter, promoted. Dated 10th
November, 1886
14 November 1893 Page 6355
The South Wales Borderers, Lieutenant. S. FitzWyman Cooke, Adjutant, to
be
Captain, to complete establishment. Dated 11th September, 1893 ...
3 August 1897 Page 4346
The South Wales Borderers, Captain Wilfrid E. B. Smith to be Adjutant,
vice.
Captain S. Fitz W. Cooke, whose period of service in that appointment
has
expired. Dated 31st July, 1897 ...
22 October 1901 Page 6850
The South Wales Borderers, Captain S. Fitz-Wyman Cooke is seconded for
service
as an Adjutant of Volunteers. Dated 30th September, 1901....
1 December 1905 Page 8646
The South Wales Borderers, Major Sidney FitzWyman Cooke retires on
retired pay.
Dated 2nd December, 1905.
10 Star of
Gwent (Published in Monmouthshire, Wales), Friday 30 August 1901
Page 8
LOCAL SIFTINGS.
Captain Moore, (South Wales Borderers) goes to the Thirds; and Captain
Cooke
(South Wales Borderers), now in India, becomes the successor to Major
E. S.
Gillman in the Fourths.
.
11 Volunteer
Service Gazette and Military Dispatch (London, England), Friday 27
September 1901 Page 7, 8. ...
We hear that Capt. S. Fitzwyman Cooke, South Wales Borderers, has been
selected
for the Adjutancy of the 4th V.B. in succession to Major Gillman, South
Wales
...
12 Eastbourne
Gazette (Published at Eastbourne), Wednesday 4 December 1907 Page:
3.
THE NEW MEMBER. Alderman Rowk moved: That Councillor Major Cooke be
appointed a
member of the Buildings, Finance and General Purposes, and Public
Libraries
Committees. Alderman Newham seconded, and the motion was carried.
13 Eastbourne
Gazette (Published at Eastbourne), Wednesday 29 October 1913 Page
7.
The Mayor replied in suitable terms, and expressed regret that
Councillor Major
Cooke was severing his connections with the Council. ...
14 Eastbourne
Chronicle, Various. ...
Saturday 25 January 1908 Page 3 - COUNCILLOR MAJOR COOKE AND THE DRUIDS
A large muster of Druids assembled at the Pier Hotel on Tuesday evening
to
assist in the initiation ceremony by which Councillor Major S. F. Cooke
and Mr.
C. W. Mayo were made members of Lodge 481.
Saturday 25 January 1908 Page 5
Major S. F. Cooke, the newly-elected Councillor for the Redoubt Ward,
has
accepted the post of President of the Eastbourne and District Licensed
Victuallers and Beer Retailers' Association ...
Saturday 25 September 1909 Page 2 - BRITISH RED CROSS SOCIETY
Yours truly, S. F. COOKE, Hon. Sec. British Red Cross Society.
Trevella, The
Goffs, Sept. 24th. ...
15 Eastbourne
Gazette (Published at Eastbourne), Wednesday 22 February 1911 Page
6 -
DEMONSTRATION AND CONCERT. PRESENTATION OF SILVER SHIELD. ...
When Councillor Major S. F. Cooke took over the command of the
Eastbourne
Battalion of the Chichester Regiment of the Church Lads' Brigade some
eighteen
months ago the interest in the movement was given fresh impetus.
.
16 London
Gazette, Various. ...
28 January 1916 Page 1223
The Welsh Regiment. Major Sidney FitzW. Cooke (Reserve of Officers),
from The
South Wales Borderers, to command a Battalion, and to be temporary
Lieutenant-Colonel; vice C. H. Young. Dated 16th December, 1915. ...
13 June 1916 Page 5941
SOUTH WALES BORDERERS. Cooke, Maj. (temp. Lt.-Col.) S. Fitz-W. (Res. of
Off.) (comdg.
Welsh R. (T.F.)). ...
2 January 1917 Page 232
The Welsh Regiment, Cooke, Maj. (temp. Lt.-Col.) S. FitzW., Res. of Off.
[The entries in italics above were mentions in dispatches to
the Secretary
of State for War from General from Sir Douglas Haig, G.C.B.,
Commander-in-Chief
of the British Armies in France]
1 June 1917 Page 5503
Welsh R. Maj. (temp. Lt.-Col.) S. FitzW. Cooke (ret. pay) (Res. of
Off.),
relinquishes his temp, rank on vacating comd. of a Bn. 21 May 1917. ...
20 August 1918 Page 9809
GENERAL RESERVE OF OFFICERS. INFANTRY.
S. Wales Bord.-Maj. S. FitzW. Cooke is granted the hon. rank of
Lt.-Col. 24th
Aug. 1918.
17 Probate
Court (England and Wales), "Calendar of Grants of Probate and
Administration", Wills and Admons 1943. COOKE Sidney Fitzwyman of
Orwell
Lodge Wimblehurst-road Horsham Sussex died 24 January 1943 Probate
Llandudno 1
April to Charles Sidney Bancroft Cooke lieutenant-colonel H. M. army.
18 Parish
Registers of England and Wales, St Stephen, Paddington Registers
1856-1897 Baptisms 1865 Page 11, No.84.
19 Probate
Court (England and Wales), "Calendar of Grants of Probate and
Administration", Wills and Admons 1945.
COOKE Alice Eliza of 43 Kings-Road Horsham in Sussex widow died 2 March
1945
Probate Llandudno 24 May 2 Geoffrey Charles Sidney Bancroft Cooke
lieutenant-colonel H. M. army and Desmond Aubrey Robert Bancroft Cooke
colonel
H. M. army. Effects £15293 6s. 7d.
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