Big Red Book
Celebrating television's This Is Your Life
Kenneth COOKE GM
THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Kenneth Cooke GM, country gamekeeper, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at Weston-Upon-Lizard, Shropshire.
Kenneth was employed as a ship’s carpenter on-board the British Cargo Steamer SS Lulworth Hill. On the 19th March 1943 the ship was torpedoed and sunk by the Italian submarine Da Vinci when on passage form Mauritius for Liverpool.
Kenneth was one of 14 survivors hauled, exhausted, on to one of two rafts 800 miles from land. This was the beginning of a 50 day ordeal, under a tropical sun, of which only Kenneth and one other man would survive. Extracts from a diary Kenneth wrote on sailcloth are read by Eamonn during the tribute, which takes place on the anniversary of the sinking.
programme details...
- Edition No: 188
- Subject No: 189
- Broadcast live: Mon 19 Mar 1962
- Broadcast time: 7.30-8.00pm
- Venue: BBC Television Theatre
- Series: 7
- Edition: 25
on the guest list...
- Dr David Charley
- Commander Tomkinson DSC
- David Cookham
- John Stainton
- Kathleen Cooke – wife
- Mary – daughter
- Earl of Bradford
- Countess of Bradford
- Leslie Hull Recorded tributes:
- Mrs Cooke - mother
- Kathleen Ferrie
production team...
- Researcher: Peter Moore
- Writer: Peter Moore
- Director: David Croft
- Producer: T Leslie Jackson
saluting the armed forces
Series 7 subjects
Max Bygraves | Mario Borrelli | Alastair Pearson | Brian Rix | Derek Dooley | Elizabeth Twistington Higgins | Sandy MacPhersonRonald Menday | Harry Day | Peter Finch | Charlie Drake | Timothy Cain | Isabella Woodford | David Park | Sefton Delmer
Coco (Nicolai Poliakoff) | Jenny Gleed | Arthur Davies | Tom Evans | David James | Kenneth Horne | Marie Rambert | David Butler
Glen Moody | Kenneth Cooke | Tom Breaks | Dora Bryan | Bob Oatway | Acker Bilk | Hester Meakin | Joe Filliston | Ellaline Terriss