Paul Cooke (rugby union, born 1916)

Paul Cooke

Date of birth	(1916-12-18)18 December 1916
Place of birth	Marylebone, England
Date of death	28 May 1940(1940-05-28) (aged 23)
Place of death	Flanders, Belgium
University	University of Oxford
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrum-half International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1939 England 2 (0)

Second Lieutenant Paul Cooke (18 December 1916 – 28 May 1940) was an English international rugby union player.

Born in Marylebone, Cooke attained an honours degree in law at the University of Oxford, where he was a rugby blue. He represented Buckinghamshire in county fixtures and had just starting playing with London club Richmond when he gained an England call up for the 1939 Home Nations. For his two caps, Cooke formed a halfback partnership with Gus Walker, playing matches against Wales and Ireland, both at Twickenham.

Cooke volunteered for Army service in November, 1939. He served as a Second Lieutenant with the 1st Battalion, Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry. On 28 May 1940, with Belgium on the brink of falling, Cooke was killed while directing fire for a Bren gun section in Flanders, as they were retreating to the coast.

See also

• List of England national rugby union players

External links

• Paul Cooke at ESPNscrum