T. Cooke & Sons

In 1855 Cooke exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in Paris and won a First Class Medal for a 7.5 inch equatorial refractor.

Dennis Taylor modified his three element lens design for photographic purposes, patenting his work in 1905 and 1906.

[11] With war looming the firm began to work with Arthur Pollen on his 'Aim Correction' system for improving the accuracy of naval gunnery.

Cooke & Sons supplied the optical components for the system which consisted of a gyroscopically stabilised rangefinder where successive readings of a moving target were mechanically integrated to give a prediction of range and bearing.

In the event the British Admiralty for the most part chose the simpler and cheaper Dreyer predictor.

[4] During World War I about half of the factory's capacity was turned over to contracts for large naval rangefinders from the main contractor, Barr & Stroud In 1922 Vickers merged it with Troughton & Simms to form Cooke, Troughton & Simms.