Family Relations Officer for Barkingside.

CMM/VR.

7^th November, 1962.

To:  Col. Atkins.

Re:   Frank Cooke

            On Monday 29^th October Mrs. Cooke came to see me.  She is a strange looking person with a big Jewish nose and slanting coloured specs. and a bouffant hair style.  She was quite an easy talker, though it was difficult to pin her down; on the other hand she did not strike one as some people do, of being completely glib and plausible.  Her talk was a bit incoherent in the same way as her background is really incoherent and it was not at all easy to get a factual account of her circumstances, she has certainly had a very odd background.  Her own parents separated and she herself was brought up in a Jewish Orphanage and in between times living with her mother who owned various cafes in Soho.  Her marriage to the Greek Sakantanis was not a happy one but I have the impression she was really fond of Mr. Cooke, her second husband, the father of Frank and in the end she told me that part of the difficult relationship she now has with Diane stems from Diane’s attitude to the stepfather Mr. Cooke.  The stepfather suffered from epileptic fits and eventually he died and though it appeared he had a fit at this time, it was actually a seizure which caused his death.  The mother described this with I think some real feeling and said that when he was taken ill with this seizure, she called out to Diane to fetch help immediately and Diane, without coming to her stepfather’s help, called back “I am not coming, he is always dying”.  Frank was present during this scene and she feels it has had some effect upon him.  The stepfather then died, more or less in the presence of the mother and the two children and the mother feels that all her security and happiness finished at this point and that possibly that if Diane had fetched the doctor more quickly, her husband would be alive today etc.

            The mother’s present circumstances are difficult to assess.  She did not deny that she had men friends and as a widow there is no reason why she should not but she does see them, she says, away from the flat and does not bring them home.  Most of the time she is out of the house she says she is working as a waitress on add shift hours and she does special jobs, such as hotel parties and dinner parties which sometimes last until 2 a.m. and then she returns home on a bicyle.  She finds Diane very difficult indeed to control but has never agreed to turning her out of the house.  Diane occasionally brings her boy and girl friends to the flat and nothing is ever cleared up and I am sure that the place is chaotic.  The mother is on good terms with her own mother and so is Diane.

            With regard to Frank’s holiday, she says that she has never been out all night when Frank is at home and she makes arrangements to take him round visiting with her etc. during the daytime.  She says that Frank is a bit slippery and inclined to be light fingered and nervous.  He has, however, never wet the bed when he has been at home.  She says he and Diane are devoted to each other.  I discussed Frank’s rather poor reports from the Village as regards lying and enuresis.  The mother said that she felt Frank was not happy in his cottage and always telling her that he was frightened of the cottage mother.  He also tells her he feels that if he plays up enough he will get moved to Dr. Truell Cottage because he thinks Diane was moved to Dr. Truell Cottage on account of playing up (this was not the reason) but the mother herself feels she is not welcome in Henry Mountain Cottage and says she has never been asked inside the cottage, though in Dr. Truell Cottage, when visiting Diane, she was always given a cup of tea.  The mother did not produce all this in a particularly grumbling attitude but merely as her contribution as to what might be causing Frank’s behaviour problems.  I have discussed this abit with Miss Fisher and she feels it may be wise to consider Frank being moved to a cottage with a married couple later on, as he has no father substitute either at home or in the cottage.

            In conclusion, I think the background is chaotic.  I do not think we have grounds for curtailing Frank’s holidays and I should imagine the main value is that Frank has real friendship with his sister Diane and his visits to his grandmother.

Signed by Family Relations Officer

I confirm that the above document is an exact copy word for word as given to me October 2001 as recorded in my official records. The only name removed is that of the author.

Frank Cooke 03/08/02