Background
He was born at Greta to miner Francis William Cockerill and Edith Maria Wheatley.
He was born at Greta to miner Francis William Cockerill and Edith Maria Wheatley.
He attended school at Kurri Kurri and Cockerill became a miner at Branxton.
He was active in the mining unions, and also served on Kearsley Shire Council from 1947 to 1950. Cockerill died at Cardiff in 1987.
From 1959 to 1973 he was a Labor member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, having previously served on the Labor central executive from 1950 to 1952 and from 1955 to 1959.