Korea - Major Ray Cook

·32 min

Military Histories shares an interview from the Royal Dragoon Guards audio archive. This week’s focus is Major QM Ray Cook of the 5th Royal Inner Skilling Dragoon Guards. The interview was recorded by Colonel Mark Faulkner in Darlington on 18 December 2013. The opening minutes stay with Ray’s time in Korea. He begins by tracing the start of his army career. It starts with night school and enlistment. He reports to Catholic in April 1950. That training unit is the 8th Royal Tank Regiment. Basic training follows. He is then allocated to one RTR. In 1950 he ends up at Hobart Barracks in Detmold. He later volunteers to serve in Korea in 1951. The exchange is plain and self-correcting as he works through the sequence. The interview then moves beyond Korea and into the wider pattern of regimental life. Ray describes exercises, ship-to-ship tank movement, and the practical business of getting armour across water without losing any in the sea. He recalls a demanding exercise in the Gulf. He remembers temperatures in the forties. He also remembers Colonel Henry Woods coming up with them. The story carries on to Cyprus, where he serves as Squadron Sergeant Major of A Squadron. There he is with the United Nations Armoured Car Squadron. The camp at Ziggy, just outside Limassol, becomes another fixed point in the memory. He describes the island’s green line, the Eoka in the mountains, and troops stationed upcountry around Paphos. He notes that the regiment did not become involved in open conflict while he was there. Later, while the regiment is in Benghazi, he is promoted to RQMS in late 1966. He remains in Cyprus for stability. The interview also touches on the regiment’s football team, a trip to England, and the timing of his own movements between stations. The final stretch shifts into post-service work. He describes a housing and welfare role covering married quarters north of Catterick up to the Scottish border. He calls it a big patch. He says the nearest boss was in York. He remembers it as thoroughly enjoyable. The job involved buying houses in the Newcastle area. He talks about that work as part of a return to his army connections after regular service. The account closes with retirement at 65. It leaves behind a service life told through postings, weather, kit, movement, and memory rather than grand summary.

As heard by us

A steady oral history of Korea that widens into a full army life.

Major Ray Cook's account moves from Korea into the longer run of army life, and the pull here is the way each posting adds another layer to the story.

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Why you'd press play

Hear Major Ray Cook's Korean War memories open into a wider army career, with the first 10 minutes on Korea.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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