History of Great Yarmouth and Gorleston-on-Sea

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• William Ballard Cockrill
• Gilbert Scott Cockrill
• Kenneth Arthur Cockrill
• Joseph James Cockrill
• Harold Woodruff Cockrill
• Edmund Hazell Cockrill
• Donald George Cockrill
• Thomas Cockrill
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• Sea Wall Collapse 1969
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Gilbert Scott Cockrill, ARIBA

Gilbert Scott Cockrill

Gilbert was W.B's eldest son. He was sent to the East Anglian School, Bury St Edmunds, where his younger brother Kenneth later joined him. He then went on to study architecture, gaining his ARIBA at the first attempt.

He was a keen local angler and all round sportsman, having been one of the founders of Gorleston Football Club, who were at one time one of the strongest amateur teams in the East of England.

He soon built an exceedingly good architectural practice, which he combined with agency business, selling land and property, with an office in Fastolff House, 30 Regent Street, Yarmouth and a private house at 244 High Street, Gorleston.

At the outbreak of war in 1914 he immediately volunteered and served successively with the Royal Canadian Engineers, the Royal Engineers and then, after gaining a commission in the field, was transferred to a Labour Corps, with whom he served until the cessation of hostilities in 1918. A family letter survives giving his address in June 1916 as Sapper No 45446, 3rd A I C Canadian Engineers, B E F France. He was gassed in one of the earliest gas attacks and although this was not thought to be of much account at the time it was to bring about his early death.

After the armistice the family's home was for many years at Ashford, Middlesex and it was there that his second daughter, Rita, was born in 1920. He once again took a keen interest in sport, particularly football, and was one of the founders and secretary of Ashford Football Club Supporters' Club. He also interested himself in bowls and presented the Rita Challenge Cup to the Ashford Bowling Club.

The family then moved to 11, Hillfield Gardens, Muswell Hill, London. At that time he was in an architectural partnership, at 115 Gower Street, London WC1; and he was a Freemason in the Victis Lodge (3075).

Gilbert undertook a lot of work for various trades unions, including the new design of Unity House in Euston Road for the National Union of Railwaymen, for whom he was advisory architect. Through these contacts he became very friendly with various prominent labour party members and stood, unsuccessfully, as Labour candidate for the Spelthorn Division of Middlesex in the General Election of December 1923. In his election address he identified unemployment as the key issue.

• The proposals he set out included:
• National Development
• Nationalising and Reconditioning railways and canals
• Development of Housing
• Social Services which were to be partly funded by a capital levy on all private fortunes exceeding five thousand pounds to provide for the unemployed, aged, widowed and sick
• To end the scandalous treatment of ex-service men and their widows
• Revision of International Policies based upon international co-operation
• The League of Nations
• Revision of the Treaty of Versailles.

Gilbert by this time was increasingly feeling the effects of his war time gassing and of his chosen life style. Heavy smoking, drinking and late nights out with Labour Party campaigners who found this young and undoubtedly brilliant architect a valuable convert to socialism. It brought about a crisis in his lung condition. His doctor told him that his only chance of living lay in one direction - stop smoking, quit his pressurised life style, live in the open air; take up farming. He was unwilling to follow this advice, even if it killed him; which it soon did. He became increasingly unwell and he was admitted to the British Red Cross Hospital, Scio House, Putney Heath, Roehampton on 3rd. March 1926 suffering from the effects of war time gassing and died there on Friday 9th. April 1926.

The Congregational Church.
The Church has 1910 and 1826 in its gable end. The Congregational Church was re-built to a design by Gilbert Scott Cockrill in 1910. The original church had become unsafe with only the lower parts of the outer walls being retained.