Military Chat

Henry George Cook born 1884, Great Yarmouth.

Can someone please see if they can find any military records for Henry.

Our family recently found two medals which belonged to him.

We think he must have served from 1914 onwards, he moved to Grimsby at that time.

Any information would be a great help.

Thanks
Meg

Which medals are they & do they show a service number?

In case you’re unaware, in the region of 70% of full WW1 service records were destroyed during WW2. The medal index was stored elsewhere & survived. As you can imagine, there’ll be quite a few with the same name or initials.

There’s this from Findmypast implying this HG Cook was a merchant seaman rather than Royal Navy or in the Army.

Henry George
Last name Cook
Birth year 1884
Birth place as transcribed Great Yarmouth
Birth place Great Yarmouth
Birth county Norfolk
Birth country England
Year -
Link to site http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7995433
Source Registry of Shipping and Seamen: Index of First World War Mercantile Marine Medals and the British War Medal
Archive reference BT 351/1/27921
Medal type Merchant Navy Medal Index Cards, 1914-1920

A Victory Medal and British War Medal. I've only just seen photos at the moment, I do know they have H G Cook stamped on the side.
I think I can also see numbers 4987E if that helps.

He was an engineer on Fishing trawlers.

Victory & British medals normally imply that he didn't see service in a *theatre of war* until after 31 Dec 1915. Any earlier & he would have received either the 14 Star or the 14-15 Star.

Do you know when he died? This is from Ancestry
UK, Shipping and Seamen WWI and WWII Rolls of Honour, 1914-1949

The headings aren't visible but read
Cook, Henry George
Second Engineer
56 (age?)
Grimsby
28.6.40
SS Castleton (F/V) 118938

CWGC entry

Second Engineer
COOK, HENRY GEORGE
Died 28/06/1940
Aged 56
Steam Trawler Castleton (Grimsby).
Fishing Fleet

Son of Richard and Martha Cook; husband of Jessie Maud Cook, of Grimsby, Lincolnshire.

Other records for men of the same name

UK, Royal Navy Registers of Seamen's Services, 1848-1939
Henry George Cook
Gender: Male
First Service Date: 17 Feb 1917
First Ship Served On: Pactolus
Last Service Date: 11 Feb 1917
Last Ship Served On: Pembroke I
Service Number: 139205

Think he may have enlisted or been born in Chatham, Kent
....

My gut feeling is that your Henry George Cook served in Merchant Navy.
There's also this record (Ancestry) which closely resembles the number you believe to be on the medals

UK, Royal Naval Reserve Service Records Index, 1860-1955
Name: Henry George Cook
Birth Date: 6 May 1894
Birth Place: Great Yarmouth
Date: 1908-1958
Service Number: ES 4987
URL: http://discovery.nationalarchi...

Following the link from Ancestry to the National Archives gives

Name Cook, Henry George Place of Birth: Great Yarmouth Number: ES 4987 ...

Reference: BT 377/7/134391
Description:
Name Cook, Henry George
Place of Birth: Great Yarmouth
Number: ES 4987
Date of Birth: 06 May 1894
Date: [1908-1958]
Closure status: Open Document, Open Description

It costs £3.50 to download a copy of either records on the National Archives site. Sorry - subscriptions to other sites don't cover it.

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8668590
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7995433

Based on Royal Navy records for WW1, it probably gives the names of the vessels he worked on.

Thank you, you’ve been a great help.
That is the correct Henry that died in 1940 Castleton.
I have found out that he was on Grimsby Trawler Seddon in 1919.

All new to me this side of researching.

Thanks again.

Meg.