Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Three: Corporal A. J. Cook, Northamptonshire Regiment, who was commended for his gallantry in Jacob Trench during Captain Coyler-Fergusson’s V.C. action on Bellewaarde Ridge on 31 July 1917, and was subsequently taken Prisoner of War

1914-15 Star (17506 Pte. A. J. Cook. North’n R.); British War and Victory Medals (17506 A. Cpl. A. J. Cook. North’n. R.) good very fine (3) £300-£400

Albert James Cook attested for the Northamptonshire Regiment and served with the 2nd Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 3 June 1915.

Jacob Trench - the Battle of Pilckem Ridge
Cook took part in the attack on Bellewaarde Ridge on 31 July 1917, the first objective of 8th Division, II Corps, on the first day of the Battle of Pilckem Ridge, the opening battle of the Third Ypres Campaign. It was generally recognised that the hardest task of the day fell to the 8th Division. With 24th and 30th Divisions, it was to advance on a three mile front from Klein Zillebeke to the Ypres-Roulers railway, and capture the entire Gheluvelt plateau. This area, two miles square, was a maze of pillboxes and machine-gun nests, organised in three defensive zones and with seven main lines of fortifications closer together and completed to a greater depth than any on the remainder of the Flanders front.

The massive barrage that preceded the attack commenced at 3.50 a.m., and the two Brigades of 8 Division moved up the long slope behind the creeping barrage which moved steadily at the rate of 100 yards every four minutes. As they reached higher ground the forward Companies were delayed by the tangle of barbed wire, the fallen trees that had once been Château Wood, and the ubiquitous mud. The advance faltered near the crest of Bellewaarde Ridge and there was a danger the barrage would move too far ahead. At the top of the ridge was Jacob Trench, still occupied by the enemy, and covered by a machine-gun in a wired strongpoint that had survived the bombardment. Delay here would be fatal to the general attack. Captain Colyer-Fergusson ‘found himself with a Sergeant and five men only. He carried out the attack, nevertheless, and succeeded in capturing the enemy trench and disposing of the garrison. His party was then threatened by a heavy counter-attack from the left front, but this attack he successfully resisted.’ (V.C. London Gazette 6 September 1917).

Cook played an important role at this crucial moment in the attack. His Divisional Certificate reads: ‘During operations East of Ypres on 31 July 1917 this man showed remarkable quickness and skill in getting his Lewis Gun into action in Jacob Trench and with it completely breaking down the counter attack on our left. He subsequently showed the greatest boldness and dash in dealing with the enemy Headquarters dug-out in Jacob Trench, and extracting therefrom certain valuable enemy documents. His promptitude and courage was a fine example to his Company.’

Cook was taken prisoner of war at Berry Au Bac on the Aisne on 27 May 1918, and was held in Dulmen Camp in Germany for the remainder of the War. Repatriated following the cessation of hostilities, he was discharged on 5 April 1919, and died, aged 47, in 1939.

Sold together with the recipient’s 8th Division Parchment Certificate for Gallant Conduct and Devotion to Duty awarded by the General Officer Commanding 8th Division to Albert James Cook on 31 July 1917 signed by Major General Heneker, Commanding 8 Division; British Red Cross ‘reported missing’ card dated 27 May 1918; German Prisoner of War Official Postcard from Camp Dulmen dated 10 August 1918; a quantity of picture postcards from P.O.W. camp and other family group photographs; and other ephemera, including copied research.