The window depicting the Anzac soldier was commissioned by the Winter Cooke family in late 1979 and it was unveiled on 20 January 1980 by Commander Dacre Smyth RAN and dedicated by the Bishop of Ballarat, the Right Reverend John Hazlewood. William Lempriere Winter Cooke had four daughters and an only son, Samuel, named after his grandfather, who praised the window as 'a magnificent work of art'. Cooke added 'Winter' to his name later in life.
William Lempriere Cooke was a 22 year-old grazier when he enlisted in August 1914. With 4 Battalion, he landed at Cape Helles on 25 April 1915 and although he suffered bouts of gastro-enteritis he spent most of the next seven months on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Lieutenant Cooke was awarded the Military Cross for for his actions at Pozieres, France on the night of 22/23 July 1916 when he showed coolness and courage while commanding three Lewis machine guns, one of which he retrieved under enemy fire. Although the operation concluded successfully, and with little loss of life, Lieutenant Cooke received a gunshot wound the the back of the knee and it is clear from the 'nervous disability' noted on his record that was suffering from what would be called today post-traumatic stress disorder. He was presented with the MC ribbon in the field by General Birdwood on 19 October, after the award was gazetted in London on 22 September 1916. He was promoted to Captain in November 1916, a rank he was willing to forgo when he applied to join the Royal Air Force in October 1918. Although he appears to have been accepted as 2nd Lieutenant in the British Army, the armistice possibly intervened and he returned to Australia, disembarking in Melbourne October 1919.
References & Acknowledgements
AWM Honours and Awards; NAA: B2455, Cooke, WL; http://www.orvalstainedglass.com/WESTERN-DISTRICT.html
Personal communication with Sam and Catherine Winter-Cooke.
