Roger Gresham Cooke (26 January 1907 – 22 February 1970), usually known as Gresham Cooke, was a British

Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and also known colloquially as the Tories, is one of the Two-party system, two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. ...

politician. He was the son of Dr Arthur Cooke, F.R.C.S., senior surgeon to

Addenbrooke's Hospital Addenbrooke's Hospital is an internationally renowned large teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge, England, with strong affiliations to the University of Cambridge. Addenbrooke's Hospital is based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campu ...

. A brother was Nicholas Gresham Cooke, DFC.

Early life

Cooke joined the

British Road Federation The British Road Federation was a Trade association, business organisation representing stakeholders of the road industry in the United Kingdom. The organisation was active since 1932 and ceased to exist in 2000. It represented companies and trade a ...

as secretary in 1935, later becoming Chairman of its Highways Committee. After the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, in 1946, he was appointed director of the

Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) is the trade association for the United Kingdom motor industry. Its role is to "promote the interests of the UK automotive industry at home and abroad." History SMMT was founded by Frede ...

, a representational role which he held during a difficult period for the UK's economy and motor industry until 1955.

Political career

Cooke was

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

from 1955 until his death aged 63 in 1970. No

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

was held after his death, as the 1970 general election followed only four months later, in which

Toby Jessel Toby Henry Francis Jessel (11 July 1934 – 3 December 2018) was a British Conservative Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Twickenham from 1970 to 1997. Early life Jessel was born at Bearsted in Kent on 11 July 1934, the so ...

was elected as Cooke's successor.

Personal life

Cooke married Rosalie Anne, daughter of J.R.H. Pinckney in 1934. The couple had four children, Rosalie, Vivien, Hereward and Gerald. Rosalie and Hereward both followed their father's interest in politics. Rosalie was a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

councillor who led South Oxford district council for a decade, and Canon Hereward was the

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

deputy leader of

Norwich City Council Norwich City Council is the city council for the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. It consists of 39 councillors, elected to represent 13 wards, each with three councillors. It is currently under Labour control and led by Alan Waters. It form ...

between 2002 and 2006.Times Onlin
Obituary: Canon Hereward Cooke
''Times Online''. 7 January 2010. Rosalie's son is the journalist and environmental activist

George Monbiot George Joshua Richard Monbiot ( ; born 27 January 1963) is a British writer known for his environmental and political activism. He writes a regular column for ''The Guardian'' and is the author of a number of books. Monbiot grew up in Oxfordsh ...

Other activities

A few days before he died Cooke was lobbying for Britain's motor racing achievements to be commemorated through a special issue of postage stamps.

References

External links

* 1907 births 1970 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1900s-stub