Frank E. Cooke (1923–2007) was an English broadcaster and writer dedicated to making the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

accessible to ordinary people. Cooke left school without any qualifications, and one of his early jobs was cleaning the floors of the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

while he developed his career as a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

ist. Soon after becoming a believing

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, he was called up for Army service with the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

; he served in Europe and India, being known throughout only for his clarinet and football skills. By the age of 23, Cooke had never read a book. So the shock of being accepted as a student by a college of the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

was matched only by that of seeing his first 'required reading' book list. He persevered and became interested in helping others to whom reading is a 'closed book'. Later on, at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, Frank studied for a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD, DB, or BDiv; ) is an academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies. ...

degree. He became a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

minister and held

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

ates at

Bacup Bacup ( , ) is a town in the Rossendale Borough in Lancashire, England, in the South Pennines close to Lancashire's boundaries with West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. The town is in the Rossendale Valley and the upper Irwell Valley, east ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, at

Hinckley Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England, administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in Leicestershire, after Leicester and Loughborough, and is about halfway between L ...

, at Purley and at

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

. For four years he was the interim pastor of a new church at

Amesbury Amesbury () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It is known for the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge which is within the parish. The town is claimed to be the oldest occupied settlement in Great Britain, having been first settl ...

until it became sufficiently large to call its first full-time minister. For fourteen years he was the

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

Spurgeon's College Spurgeon's College is an evangelical Baptist theological college in South Norwood, London, England, United Kingdom. It is affiliated with the Baptist Union of Great Britain. History The school was founded in 1856 by Pastor Charles Spurgeon as " ...

in London. He became a member of the Baptist Council and was elected President of the

Baptist Union of Great Britain Baptists Together, formally the Baptist Union of Great Britain, is a Baptists, Baptist Christian denomination in England and Wales. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and Churches Together in England. The headquarters is in Didc ...

in 1983. He was experienced not only as a writer, but also as a broadcaster, having been involved in writing and presenting for many radio and TV programmes. He presented the weekly 'God slot' show on London's

Capital Radio Capital London is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Global Media & Entertainment as part of its national Capital (radio network), Capital Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Bri ...

, and was a regular contributor on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

, Transworld Radio, and many other stations. He died in 2007.

Partial bibliography

* Cooke, Frank E. ''Jesus Rules: An Up to Date Guide to the Sermon on the Mount''.

Worthing, West Sussex Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

, England: Henry Walter Ltd, 1978. * Cooke, Frank E. ''The Family of God''. West Sussex, England: Henry Walter Ltd, 1979. * ''Christmas Bible Stories'' * ''Cooke's Tour of the Bible'' * ''Get together'' * ''Good News Starts Here'' * ''Jesus'' (Scripture Union) * ''Living in the Covenant'' * ''Praise Away'' * ''Sing Song Roundabout'' * ''Through The Year With Frank Cooke'' * ''Word for Today''

References

External links

Cooke's Tour of the Bible
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, Frank 1923 births 2007 deaths Alumni of the University of London Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester English radio people English Christian writers 20th-century English Baptist ministers British Army personnel of World War II Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers