During the Second World War, John Kingsley Cook (1911-94) served in the merchant navy as a wireless officer. He joined in 1940, and went on his first sea voyage, to the United States, in December 1940. His ship was sunk off the coast of Algeria in 1941, the survivors being taken captive and held there until liberated after the Allied landing in North Africa in 1942. He resumed service after a few months recuperating at home, and was discharged in August 1945, when he joined the staff at the Edinburgh College of Art. There, he taught engraving and graphic design and lectured on the History of Art, before being appointed Head of Design in 1960. He retired in 1971.
Throughout the war, Cook drew his experiences. He also created a number of retrospective drawings in the 1980s, when he was working on his (as yet unpublished) memoirs. 262 drawings and 2 paintings of his wartime experiences were presented by his family to the National Maritime Museum in 2012.

John Kingsley Cook’s arrival in America on his first sea voyage was memorable: his ship reached New York on 10 January 1941, his 30th birthday. He recorded in his diary (still in the hands of his family): ‘I felt as I gazed, that this city, standing on the threshold of a new world, was the greatest symbol of the 20th century civilisation, and I was glad, for I felt there was hope’. America had not yet entered the war, and, unlike Britain, was not subject to blackout conditions. The crew had not seen city lights for 18 months.

The back of the drawing is inscribed, in the artist's hand: 'Liberty Boat New York'