Honours and Awards

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George Medal

COOK, George Douglas, Lieutenant, RCNVR

Issued: 29-Jul-1941, London Gazette

"For gallantry and undaunted devotion to duty." "Lieutenant Cook, Mine Disposal Officer temporarily appointed to the Staff of the Senior British Naval Officer, Suez Canal Area, recovered a German parachute mine (at Tousom, near Ismailia, Egypt) on 29th February 1941. There were no service divers available to attach the pressure horn. Lieutenant Cook therefore pulled the mine into shallow water with a net, and then himself took out the fuze under water. He then had the mine taken by lorry to a safe place in the desert, and after gaining permission from the Senior British Naval Officer, proceeded to dismantle it in the hope of getting useful information by the recovery of the magnetic or acoustic element. After five days of careful trepanning of the case, he exposed the booby trap detonator. He then removed this and pulled off the rear door by remote control. This is the first time since the beginning of the war that a ground mine laid in water deep enough to arm it has ever been successfully recovered and stripped. All other attempts have failed , two with severe loss of life. Lieutenant Cook must have been well aware of the extraordinary risks he was running. Taking the fuze out under water must have been a very trying experience requiring the highest degree of courage and control while the subsequent stripping was clearly done with careful persistence and courage. Lieutenant Cook was sent to the Mediterranean for Bomb Disposal Duties. That he has dealt with mines after only being taught enough to enable him to identify a mine, and has taken the pains to learn the details of these intricate mechanisms add much to the merit of his performance in successfully carrying out very dangerous work of the highest importance in the face of the greatest difficulties."

Bar to the George Medal

COOK, George Douglas, Lieutenant, RCNVR

Issued: 10-Feb-1942, London Gazette

"For gallantry and undaunted devotion to duty." "A mine was dropped on shore at Haifa and Lieutenant Cook took charge of the disposal of it. He identified it as a type that has a series of devices meant to explode if it is not fully immersed as a mine. Since it had not exploded, he suspected that some defect had developed which might rectify itself of its own accord or through incautious interference. Therefore, he decided not to risk moving it but to strip it on the spot. The area was ordered cleared next day. Some 14,000 people were affected and the site was sandbagged and a tent put up over the mine. The complicated operation of stripping the mine took Lieutenant Cook three and a half hours of patient work, part of it done in total darkness, since this type of mine has an explosive device sensitive to light, with the knowledge that if he made one mistake, he would have no warning and no chance of escape."

Mentioned in Despatches

COOK, George Douglas, LCdr, RCNVR

Issued: 15-Sep-1945, Canada Gazette