COOK, James

James Cook was the son of John Cook, an architect, and Selina, of 1 Careless Green, Lye, and he attended Wollescote school. He had probably volunteered before 1914 and was a Trooper in the Worcester Yeomanry, the Queen's Own Worcestershire Hussars. They went in April 1915 to Gallipoli as part of the 1st Mounted Division and saw serious action. After the evacuation in December they were sent with the 5th Mounted Brigade to defend Egypt and the Suez Canal. With German military advisers the Turks decided to invade Egypt and achieved a considerable success at Katia on the 23rd April where the Worcesters' losses were heavy. By 1917 they were in the Australian Mounted Division and at the end of the campaigning season General Allenby decided to mount a major attack on the Turks and capture Jerusalem. The cavalry made a flanking attack through the desert and struck at Beersheba on the 1st November. His strategy was eventually successful and Jerusalem fell on the 9th December, the first major success of the British army in the Great War. The Worcester Yeomanry distinguished themselves in a genuine cavalry charge at Huj on the 8th November, but among the few casualties was Trooper James Cook. He was 26 years of age and is buried in Gaza War Cemetery (XIX D 2). He is commemorated on the Lye and Wollescote, Lye church, Wollescote school and Worcester Cathedral Memorials.