Meet John James Cook, my grandfather, 3 Jan 1907 – 19 Nov 1987
On the anniversary of his birth I am reposting this blog post from 2017
John James Cook was born 3 January 1907 in Cape Town, South Africa. He was called Jack. When I asked him why once, his answer was, “all John’s are called Jack”, and that was that.
He was the firstborn child of Arthur Charles Cook (1869-1950) and Sarah Emma Louise Cooper (1883-1926). He had 5 siblings, Arthur Frederick (1913-1913), Lilian (1916-1939), Charles (1918-1991), Jean (details unavailable) and Patrick Kingsley (1926-1975)
The following is a transcript of his dictation to my mother when she asked him for an account of his life:
“I was born in Cape Town on the 3rd of January 1907. The early part of my childhood was spent in Cape Town where I attended Marist Brothers School. After this, I attended school in De Aar and later we moved to Mafikeng where I finished my schooling. Later on, I took a correspondence course in accountancy.
I started work on the South African Railways at Mafikeng. In 1932, I went to work in Lobatsi, and in 1933 moved on to Johannesburg.
Since then I have remained in Johannesburg.
I met my future wife while working at Lennon Limited, and we were married on the 10th Nov. 1937. We started our married life by staying in a flat in Mackay Mansions and in 1943 we moved out of town to a house in Kensington. In December 1943 our first child, a daughter, was born. About 2 years later, in August 1946 our son, Peter was born.
During my life I have taken interest in different sports, the main ones being tennis, golf, cricket and soccer.
I can also remember that at the time of my living at De Aar in the Cape I had been a choir boy in the Anglican Church there. Another thing that comes back to my mind is that the parson there used to lend me his bicycle to ride at times.”
How grateful I am for this glimpse into his memories! How I wish there was more recorded!
Jack and Mabs (my grandmother’s nickname made up of the initials of her names) were both educated and diligent workers. They both worked until after retirement age. I always had the impression that he was held in high esteem. Politics was not something you wanted to engage him on. He was a vocal liberal with an intense dislike of the apartheid government of the day. The only time I ever saw him angry was if someone tried to debate the merits of apartheid with him. He always encouraged his children and grandchildren to get as much education as they could and to be solid citizens. He was extremely proud of his children and their families.
My memories of him were of a quiet but very determined man quite set in his ways. I don’t remember him as being very demonstrative but never once did I doubt his love for me. He was an avid reader with an extensive library. He read all the important newspapers like the Rand Daily Mail and The Star, and clipped articles and dated those clippings diligently. He always did the crosswords in those newspapers. Next to his armchair in the lounge, there was always a book and a newspaper, an ashtray and a glass of something. He drank beer in a very strange pattern that I never quite understood – Lion Lager had to be at room temperature, then a cold Castle or 2 and finish off with a cold Black Label. Last a small glass of whiskey as a nightcap.
He belonged to the Union Club and the Rand Club in Johannesburg central and both are places I remember us meeting him before taking the bus back to their home.
He always brought us treats when he came to visit. Mine was usually a Kit Kat, Jelly tots or Smarties.
He had an appreciation of the arts. I do not remember him attending many productions with us but I know we always got tickets to musicals, plays, and ballets from him. He had a substantial music collection made up of 78’s and 33 LP records. His radiogram was his pride and joy and when it was given to me I treasured it long after it stopped working. I still have some of his record collection, and I know that my love of a wide variety of music comes from growing up listening to his collection, which included the likes of Engelbert Humperdink, Burl Ives, Ruby Murray, Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Mantovani and much more. He gave me a tape recorder and my first cassette tape for my 13th birthday which I used well into my 20’s. He also purchased a television soon after they were introduced in South Africa and always watched the sport and the news. I remember him owning a Rover V8 and a Triumph motor car and treating his cars very well.
I also got to go on a holiday or two with them. They always had an annual holiday and judging from the copious number of photographs, they toured South Africa extensively. Regrettably, almost none of the photos are annotated and so I have little idea of the years or places they are a memory of.
My grandfather was a man of few words but he left an indelible impression on my mind and heart. To me, he was the epitome of a gentleman. I remember he would insist that he walk on the outside of the pavement closest to the road to protect me. He always opened the car door for my granny. He expected children to be seen and not heard unless he called you to have a chat.
I remember that he allowed me to conduct the orchestra’s on his radiogram with granny’s knitting needle. He called me his “pumpkin” or “Gogga”. I remember his corny joke that a hungry horse in 4 letters was “M-T-G-G (Empty Geegee).
He encouraged reading and good grammar. He frowned on boisterousness. He disliked vegetables except for burnt roast pumpkin and peas. There were always cold pork sausages in their fridge for when he wanted a sliced pork sausage with HP sauce sandwich. He insisted that he “ate to live and did not live to eat” whenever my granny tried to get him to eat regular meals (he only ate when hungry).
He used to treat us all to special meals at the Rhodes Park Restaurant or the Blue Room Restaurant, both places where you had to mind your P’s and Q’s and know how to eat the many courses with the correct cutlery.
My grandfather is one of my heroes. I love and miss him. Most especially I am blessed to call him grandpa and have been influenced by such a great man.
- Posted in: family history
- Tagged: Biography, Family, family history, grandfather, Memories
Debra's Delvings and Doings 
I remember a few things. One is visiting the Cook’s in their flat in Johannesburg. I also remember when they stayed with us. He would go religiously to the local pub in the afternoon on a certain day. He would read a lot. Seemed like a loner to me.
I did not know about his political views. This was a wonderful read. I am now more interested in learning about him.