A three-quarter-length portrait to the right, showing Cooke in his captain's full dress uniform, 1795-1812, leaning against a rock with a tree in the left background.
Captain John Cooke (1763-1805) was the son of an Admiralty cashier. He entered the Royal Navy in 1776 and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 1779 and to Commander in 1793. During the War of American Independence, he served in 'Duke' during Rodney's victory at the battle of the Saints in April 1782. After the outbeak of war in 1790, at the Glorious First of June, 1794, he commanded the fireship 'Incendiary' and was promoted to Captain after the battle. At the time of the Mutiny of the Nore, Cooke was in command of 'Nymphe'; his men joined the mutiny and put him ashore. In 1799 his ship 'Amethyst' took the Duke of York to the Netherlands at the start of the Helder expedition. He commanded HMS 'Bellerophon' at the Battle of Trafalgar and was killed while reloading his pistols.