Cynthia Cooke

Cynthia Felicity Joan Cooke, (11 June 1919 – 20 April 2016) was a British military nurse and nursing administrator who served as Matron-in-Chief of the Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service, the nursing branch of the Her Majesty's Naval Service, from 1973 to 1976.

Cooke was awarded the Royal Red Cross in 1969, became a Commander of the Order of St John in 1974 and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1975.

Early life Cooke was born on 11 June 1919 in Bealings, Suffolk. She was the daughter of a Guardsman, and went to school at Stockwell County Secondary School in London, where a special teaching method known as the Dalton Plan had been put into place. After her work aboard Formidable, she transferred to to travel back to United Kingdom. and advanced to a Member of the Royal Red Cross in the 1969 Birthday Honours. She then served in Chatham, Hong Kong, Malta and Plymouth, before becoming the lead tutor at the Royal Navy training school in 1970, and finally becoming Matron-in-Chief of the QARNNS in 1973.

Later life Cooke retired in 1976, and spent the rest of her life caring for her mother and supporting the Royal British Legion for Women, the National Blood Service, and her local church. She died on 20 April 2016, aged 96.