Background
A member of the Greene brewing dynasty, Corke was born at the hill station of Murree in the British Raj, where his father, then Captain Francis Sinclair Corke, was serving with the 1st battalion 16th Punjab Regiment.
A member of the Greene brewing dynasty, Corke was born at the hill station of Murree in the British Raj, where his father, then Captain Francis Sinclair Corke, was serving with the 1st battalion 16th Punjab Regiment.
He was sent home from the Raj to be educated in England, where he attended Radley School, during which time he captained the school"s cricket team
Corke was a right-handed batsman. By age fifteen he was working at the family brewery in Bury Street Edmunds, Suffolk. He was commissioned in his father"s 16th Punjab Regiment in 1942 then later promoted lieutenant.
In 1944, he was struck down with tuberculosis, which ended his time in the British Indian Army.
He made his debut for Suffolk against Berkshire in that same seasons Minor Counties Championship. He played regularly for Suffolk throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s, making a total of 105 appearances for the county, the last of which came against Cambridgeshire in 1964.
He scored over 3,000 runs for the county, as well as captaining it for eleven seasons from 1954 to 1964. Corke also played first-class cricket for the Free Foresters, making his first-class debut against Cambridge University at Fenner"s in 1953.
He made four further first-class appearances for the Free Foresters, the last of which came against Oxford University at the University Parks in 1958.
He scored 116 runs in his five first-class matches, at an average of 11.60 and a high score of 53, his only first-class half century. His commitments to the brewery saw him become a director of Greene King, during which himself and his fellow directors resisted takeover manoeuvres from larger rivals. His directorship saw him have notable success as marketing director
In 1961, he became a magistrate, while he began work alongside his business commitments for the West Suffolk Health Authority, leading to his chairmanship of the organisation from 1982 to 1993, working which he later received an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his services to the National Health Service in the Queen"s 1993 Birthday Honours.
He held further positions as chairman of Street Edmundsbury Bench as chairman of Suffolk County Cricket Club. He died at from cancer at Bury Street Edmunds, Suffolk on 14 January 1994.
He was also a prominent member of the Greene King Brewery.