British Army Veterinary Corps
Leonard Baker COLE
Captain
Died 9 May 1918 · Aged 36
His story
Captain Leonard Baker Cole MRCVS was the youngest son of Stephen Bullock and Lydia Cole of Bilston near Wolverhampton in Staffordshire. He was educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School and the Royal Veterinary College, London, where he qualified in December 1907. He went into practice in Bilston and later in Margate and Ramsgate in Kent.
He joined the Army Veterinary Corps in March 1916 with the rank of Lieutenant and spent twelve months serving in Egypt and Palestine. In May 1918, he was sent to France, where he was attached to a Brigade of Royal Field Artillery stationed near Amiens.
He died of self-inflicted wounds on 9th May 1918, aged 36, and is buried in Daours Communal Cemetery Extension.
The Court of Inquiry into Cole’s death believed that the strain of service in Egypt had affected his general health. He was described as a good officer but with a nervous disposition.
Captain Cole’s obituary appeared in The Veterinary Record on 24 August 1918.
Photographs and documents
Before the war
- Nationality
- British
- Date of Birth
- 1882
- Place of Birth
- Bilston, Staffordshire, England
- Veterinary College and Date of Graduation
- London - December 1907
Military service
- Last Rank
- Captain
- Regiment/Service
- British Army Veterinary Corps
- Secondary Regiment
- 150th Brigade Royal Field Artillery
- First Theatre of War
- Egypt and Palestine 1916
Medals and commemoration
- Name on RCVS Honour Board
- Yes
- Name In Officers who died in Great War
- No
- Medals and Awards
- British War Medal 1914-1918; Victory Medal
Death and burial
- Date of Death
- 9 May 1918
- Age at Death
- 36
- Place of Death
- Amiens, France
- Cause of Death
- Self inflicted wounds
- Cemetery
- Daours Communal Cemetery
- Location
- France
- Grave Reference
- III.B.47
- Commonwealth War Grave
- Yes - CWGC Headstone
- Emblem or Badge on Headstone
- British Army Veterinary Corps
Sources and further reading
- CWGC casualty and commemoration record
- Find a Grave memorial
- The Veterinary Record, 24 August 1918 — cited in the earlier biography
- Thanet Advertiser May 25,1918 — reproduced document
Cite this biography
Graham Hodgkins and Pete Matthews, “Leonard Baker Cole”, Veterinary Virtual War Memorial, https://vetsremembered.org/people/leonard_baker_cole/.
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