during world war ii, cook served as a wireless operator in the merchant navy. cook was shipwrecked in october 1941 and spent several days in an open boat in the mediterranean when his ship, the "empire guillemot", en route from malta, was attacked and sunk. cook was then held captive in prisoner-of-war camps in algeria for a year until the allied landings in north africa liberated the camps. both while at sea and in the camps, cook continued to sketch and, when possible, paint. in due course, the war artists' advisory committee acquired some nine examples of these works and they are now held in the imperial war museum in london. after a period of recuperation, cook rejoined the merchant navy and served on refuelling tankers in the mediterranean until the war ended.