Francis Cocks

The Right Reverend Francis Cocks CB
Bishop of Shrewsbury
Church	Church of England
Diocese	Diocese of Lichfield
In office	1970 to 1980
Predecessor	William Parker
Successor	Leslie Lloyd Rees
Orders
Ordination	1937
Consecration	1970
Personal details
Born	(1913-11-05)5 November 1913
Died	20 August 1998(1998-08-20) (aged 84)
Nationality	British
Denomination	Anglicanism

Francis William Cocks, CB (5 November 1913 – 20 August 1998) was a British Anglican bishop and military chaplain. He was the Bishop of Shrewsbury from 1970 to 1980.

Early life and education

Cocks was born on 5 November 1913 into an ecclesiastical family – his father was William Cocks sometime Vicar of Felixstowe, rural dean and honorary canon of St Edmundsbury Cathedral. He was educated at Haileybury, a private school in Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire. He studied history at St Catharine's College, Cambridge. He trained for Holy Orders at Westcott House, Cambridge. He was an active rugby player for Cambridge University R.U.F.C., playing in The Varsity Match in 1935, Hampshire county, the Eastern Counties and Wasps.

Ordained ministry

Made a deacon on Trinity Sunday 1937 (23 May) and ordained a priest that year's Advent (18 December 1937) — both times by Cyril Garbett, Bishop of Winchester, at Winchester Cathedral. He served his title as curate of Highfield Church; in the Second World War, he was a Chaplain in the RAFVR until 1945, and then the Service itself, eventually rising to the rank of Chaplain in chief from 1959 to 1965 (he was also Archdeacon of the RAF), and for the same latter period he was Canon Emeritus at Lincoln Cathedral. He was awarded the Companion of the Bath (CB) in 1959.

From 1965 until 1970 he was Rector of Wolverhampton when he was appointed to the episcopate, a post he held for a decade. He was consecrated a bishop on 24 February 1970, by Michael Ramsey, Archbishop of Canterbury, at Westminster Abbey.

Later life

He retired to live at Felixstowe where he died on 19 August 1998, aged 84.