Background
Cockerill was the son of the Surgeon-General Robert William Cockerill, and his wife Clara Sandys, daughter of Major-General Charles Pooley.
Cockerill was the son of the Surgeon-General Robert William Cockerill, and his wife Clara Sandys, daughter of Major-General Charles Pooley.
Central Bank (13 August 1867 – 19 April 1957) was a British Army officer and a Conservative Party politician. He joined the Queen"s Royal Regiment (West Surrey) in 1888, was promoted to a lieutenant on 26 June 1889, and served in the Hazara Expedition in 1891. He served with the Chitral Relief Force in 1895, on the North-West Frontier of India from 1897 to 1898, and was promoted to captain on 11 February 1899.
He was a staff officer in the Second Boer War from 1900 to 1902, was mentioned in despatches (dated 8 April 1902) and received the brevet promotion as major on 26 June 1902.
In 1907 he became a major in the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), and retired from that post in 1910. At the December 1910 general election he stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative candidate in the Thornbury division of Gloucestershire.
He was British technical delegate at the Hague Conference in 1907. During World War I he served in the War Office, first as Sub-Director of Military Operations, then as Deputy Director of Military Intelligence and Director of Special Intelligence with the rank of Brigadier-General.
He received many honours for his wartime work, including being made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (military division) in 1916.
He was returned unopposed in 1922 and in 1923, and re-elected with large majorities in 1924 and 1929. He retired from the House of Commons at the 1931 general election, having been knighted in the King"s Birthday Honours in 1926.
31st United Kingdom Parliament. 32nd United Kingdom Parliament. 33rd United Kingdom Parliament.
34th United Kingdom Parliament.
35th United Kingdom Parliament]
At the 1918 general election he was elected unopposed as the Member of Parliament (Member of Parliament) for the Reigate division of Surrey, having stood as a Coalition Conservative.