Brigadier Jeffrey Robson Cook, (born 1954) is a retired British Army officer and a former

Director for Security Liaison An office created in the Private Secretary's Office of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom in 2004. The first office-holder was Brigadier Jeffrey Cook, a former Special Air Service (SAS) officer. He served until 2008. As ...

in the Royal Household of the

Sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

of the United Kingdom. He served in the Royal Household from 2004 to 2009, and is now Managing Director of the Morgan Aquila Group.

Early life and military career

Cook was born in 1954. He entered the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

and, on graduation, was granted a short service commission as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the Staffordshire Regiment on 9 November 1974. Promoted lieutenant on 9 November 1976 and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 2 December 1983, Cook trained as a parachutist and saw service in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and in the Balkans and elsewhere as an officer of the

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...

. He was granted a regular commission in 1984, and awarded the Military Cross in April 1985 "in recognition of gallant and distinguished service in Northern Ireland". Promoted

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

on 30 September 1987, Cook was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in April 1988 in recognition of further "distinguished service" in Northern Ireland. He transferred from the Staffordshire Regiment to the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment on 4 September 1990. Cook was promoted

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

on 30 June 1994, and advanced to

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1995 for his services in Northern Ireland between 1 October 1994 and 31 March 1995. He subsequently took part in NATO operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1995 and was awarded a

Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service The King's Commendation for Valuable Service is a British military award for meritorious service in an operational theatre. It was established in 1994, when the award of the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct and the Queen's Commendation for ...

. Promoted colonel on 30 June 1998 and brigadier on 31 December 1999 (with seniority from 30 June), Cook commanded the

20th Armoured Infantry Brigade The 20th Armoured Brigade Combat Team, previously the 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade, is an armoured infantry brigade formation of the British Army, currently headquartered at Wing Barracks, Bulford, Wiltshire, as part of the 3rd (United Kingdo ...

from 1999 to 2001. He retired from the British Army on 1 June 2004.

Director for Security Liaison

Following his retirement from the army, Cook was appointed the inaugural

. The position was a new addition to the Private Secretary's Office in the Royal Household of the

of the United Kingdom. The Private Secretary has general oversight of security, though the Master of the Household is also involved, and the Keeper of the Privy Purse has responsibility for the ceremonial

bodyguards A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, ...

References

External links

BBC report
1954 births British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Devonshire and Dorset Regiment officers Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Living people NATO personnel in the Bosnian War Recipients of the Commendation for Valuable Service Recipients of the Military Cross Special Air Service officers British Army brigadiers Staffordshire Regiment officers {{British-Army-bio-stub