Nigel Cuthbert Cooke died in Nigeria on 26th May, 1951, at the age of 73.
In 1899 he went to South Africa to join the Cape Mounted Rifles, with whom he fought throughout the South African War, and in 1904 he returned to England to enter the School of Metalliferous Mining (Cornwall).
After some months at Wheal Sisters and Wheal North, Ltd., Cornwall, he left England in 1908 for the Argentine, where he was employed by Famatina Development Corporation, Ltd., in charge of their mines at Mejicana until the end of August, 1910. Four months, later he became manager of Burton Development Syndicate, one of the first to work the alluvial tin deposits on and around the Bauchi Plateau, Northern Nigeria. In 1912 he joined Rayfield Tin Mines, Ltd., as assistant manager, and in 1914 returned to England and was engaged for a year on building army camps in Surrey.
From 1915 to 1916 he was assistant manager, Argentine Metals Corporation, at Pisco Yacu, but returned home to join the Royal Army Service Corps, with whom he served in France with the rank of captain.
On demobilization he farmed his own property in Bedfordshire and in Essex until 1925, when he returned to Nigeria to manage consecutively Monguna Tin Mines, Ltd., North Ropp River Tin Co., Ltd., and, in 1928, Northern Areas, Associated Tin Mines (Nigeria), Ltd. During the tin slump in 1933 Captain Cooke managed Nigerian Gold Mines, Ltd., returning to Bauchi in 1937 as district superintendent for Associated Tin Mines of Nigeria, Ltd. From the beginning of 1938 until his retirement in 1948 he was district superintendent for A.O. Nigeria, Ltd. He continued to manage his own properties until his death.
Captain Cooke was elected to Studentship of the Institution in 1908, transferred to Associate Membership in 1911, and to Membership in 1940.
Vol. 61, Trans I.M.M. 1951-52, pp. 183-4
