Australian Victoria Cross Recipient
Private Thomas Cooke
Unit
8th Battalion
Born
5 July 1881 at Kaikoura, New Zealand. He migrated to Australia in 1912.
Date of action
24-25 July 1916
Place
Pozieres, France
Details
During an attack Cooke was ordered, with his Lewis gun team, to a dangerous part of the line. Heavy enemy fire killed all his companions, but Cooke remained at his post firing his Lewis gun. When assistance finally reached this post Cooke was found dead beside his gun. He was one of eighty-one members of the battalion killed during this action.
Died
25 July 1916
Buried or Commemorated
Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France
Current location of the VC
Queen Elizabeth II Army Memorial Museum, Waiouru, New Zealand