Air Marshal Sir Cyril Bertram Cooke, (28 June 1895 – 27 September 1972) was a senior

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

officer who served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief

RAF Maintenance Command RAF Maintenance Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for controlling maintenance for all the United Kingdom-based units from formation on 1 April 1938 until being renamed RAF Support Command on 31 August 1973. Histor ...

from 1947 to 1949.

Military career

Cooke served with the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, transferring to the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

in 1915.Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Marshal Sir Cyril Cooke
/ref> He was appointed

Officer Commanding The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually giv ...

No. 188 Squadron in April 1918 on the formation of the

. He went on to be Officer Commanding No. 20 Squadron in 1924, a wing commander at the No. 1 School of Technical Training in 1935 and Officer Commanding, No. 6 School of Technical Training in 1939. He served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as Chief Maintenance Officer at Headquarters RAF Middle East from February 1941, as Air Officer Commanding No. 206 (Maintenance) Group from June 1941 and as Air Officer Commanding No. 4 School of Technical Training from December 1942 before becoming Director of Technical Training at the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

in June 1944 and Director of Maintenance and Supply at Rear Headquarters

Mediterranean Allied Air Forces The Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) was the major Allied air force command organization in the Mediterranean theater from mid-December 1943 until the end of the Second World War. Formation The Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) be ...

in December 1944. He finished the war as Air Officer Commanding No. 43 Group. After the war he was appointed Director-General of Servicing and Maintenance at the Air Ministry and then Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief

Maintenance Command Maintenance Command is a command of the Indian Air Force. It was raised as Maintenance Group at Chakeri in Kanpur in 1950. In 1955, it was designated as Maintenance Command. Its current headquarters is located at Vayusena Nagar in Nagpur (Maha ...

before retiring in 1949.

Personal life

He took part in the National Shooting Competition at Bisley and was Chairman of the Royal Air Force (County) Football Association. He was the father of John Cooke. His son also joined the RAF and rose to senior ranks as Dean of Air Force Medicine.

References

External links

COOKE, Sir Cyril Bertram (1895–1972), Air Marshal – Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, Cyril 1895 births 1972 deaths British Army personnel of World War I Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English cricketers Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Royal Air Force cricketers Royal Air Force air marshals of World War II Royal Artillery officers Royal Flying Corps officers 20th-century English sportsmen