Department of Navy to Mrs E.E. Cook, covering letter for the indenture of her son as cadet midshipman at the Royal Australian Naval College
Date6 February 1930
Object numberANMS1445[013]
NameLetter
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 260 × 205 mm
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Rhod Cook
DescriptionThe cover letter of the agreement between the Department of Navy and Mrs E.E. Cook admitting her son William Frank Cook into the Royal Australian Naval College as cadet midshipman. He was around 14 at the time.SignificanceThis folder of official naval appointment documents is significant because it provides a complete record of William Cook's service aboard ships during his naval career. Cook's record can be traced from his origins as a Naval Cadet Midshipman at Flinders Naval Depot in 1930 to his appointment to the honourary rank of Captain upon retirement in 1960. Further, his complete collection of 'flimsies', or conduct documents, chronicle how he was perceived by his superiors before, during and after the Second World War. Such comprehensive service records for a single individual during the period covered (1930-1960) are relatively rare.
Cook had a distinguished naval career, and served aboard notable Australian warships during the Second World War, including HMAS Perth (I), HMAS Voyager (I) and HMAS Nizam. He was mentioned in despatches for his service aboard Voyager during the Greek campaign in 1941. Awarded command of Nizam at the age of 28, Cook became the youngest Australian to command a destroyer during the conflict. He was later present at Tokyo Bay (while in command of Nizam) during the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on 2 September 1945. He later served as First Lieutenant of HMAS Wyatt Earp, the first Australian vessel to conduct Antarctic research in the immediate post-war period.
