Brave Winsford soldier who escaped being shot in the Boer War remembered with pride

Major John Kemp Cooke joined the Cheshire Yeomanry in 1900 and served with the army in South Africa.

His horse was shot from under him and a bullet passed through the collar of his tunic.

The Cheshire Regiment crest and chin strap from his helmet recently came up for sale at a specialist military auction and the council bought it for the town.

The Cheshire Regiment crest and chin strap from Major Cooke's helmet have been bought at auction by Winsford Town Council

The historic items saved for the town will be put on display.

Major Cooke organised the Territorial Army for Winsford when he returned to Britain from the Boer War.

He recruited and trained 120 men and it became the first local area to achieve full strength in Cheshire.

Training took place at the Drill Hall, Dingle Lane and it was Major Cooke’s fundraising that paid for a recreation room to be built there.

With the outbreak of war in August 1914, he was promoted to the rank of major and put in charge of the second line of the Cheshire Territorial Regiment, bringing it up to a strength of 800 men.

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Major Cooke was taken ill at Christmas 1914 and received radiotherapy treatment at Manchester Royal Infirmary. It is reported that he was given 90 milligrams of radium, the largest dose ever given to a patient at that time.

He died on July 29, 1915, aged 36, at his parent’s home, Crossfield House, in what is today Crossfield Avenue.

Major Cooke's helmet gilded crest plate

Major Cooke was the eldest son of John Henry Cooke, a prominent Winsford solicitor who was clerk to Winsford Urban District Council for many years.

A qualified solicitor, he joined his father’s practice and acted as his deputy to the council.

Major Cooke was given a funeral with full military honours. Flags were flown at half-mast from all public buildings and after a service at Crossfield House by Rev Frederick Cooke, Major Cooke’s brother, the coffin was carried to St Chad’s Church, Over, led by a firing party of 12 soldiers of the Cheshire Regiment carrying reversed arms.

Major Cooke was given a funeral with full military honours

A Union Jack covered the coffin, resting on which was Major Cooke’s helmet and sidearms.

The Cheshire Regiment crest and chin strap from Major Cooke’s helmet were mounted for display, together with a memorial card which described him as a ‘good soldier and patriot’.

The Cheshire Regiment crest and chin strap from Major Cooke's helmet were mounted for display after his burial

It is believed they remained with the family for many years, until at some point they were disposed of, coming to light at a public auction in Ipswich in June.