12260: William, Alfred, Stanley, Charles and Harold Cook

June Clark is the great niece of the Cook brothers.

All five brothers volunteered in the Somerset Light Infantry. Four brothers survived the war, Harold died. The family story is that two of the brothers were gassed but this not been verified.

William was a sapper in the Royal Engineers from the beginning of the war.

Alfred, who was a Sergeant of Police in India before the war, signed up as a territorial and later joined the Northumberland Fusiliers. He was injured in an arm and his back and was in Whitby during the bombardment.

Stanley was in Royal Garrison Artillery and little else is known other than the family story that during WWII he was in the S.O.E. involved in operation Greyhound.

Charles died of tetanus whilst working in Bruton Saw Mill.

Harold died in Fromelles when serving with the Oxford & Buckinghamshire Regiment aged just 19, killed after only 12 days at the front.

Their father William, who had served in the Royal Navy, was warmly congratulated on having five sons serving in WWI and this was reported on the front page of their local paper (to be confirmed).

The brothers were from a family of at least 12 children.