Ottawa — The Canadian War Museum is in mourning. On October 26, 2025, the institution confirmed the passing of its beloved Chief Historian and Director of Research, Dr. Tim Cook. Colleagues, students, veterans, and history lovers across the country are reeling from the news — the loss of a voice who so passionately gave shape to Canada’s military memory.
In a somber statement, Caroline Dromaguet, President and CEO of the Canadian War Museum (and the Canadian Museum of History), paid homage: “The Canadian War Museum is deeply saddened to announce the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Chief Historian and Director of Research, Dr. Tim Cook. As Canada’s preeminent military historian, Tim’s contributions to the Museum since 2002 have been extraordinary. He helped shape the Canadian War Museum into what it is today, including the widely acclaimed permanent exhibition Gallery 2: For Crown and Country.” The museum also shared that plans are underway for a formal commemoration to honor his life and work.
Dr. Cook’s journey at the War Museum began in 2002, and over more than two decades his imprint was profound. He curated some of its most powerful and evocative exhibitions — Victory 1918 – The Last 100 Days, Communities at War, and War and Medicine among them. He also spearheaded In Their Own Voices, an oral-history initiative that preserved first-hand accounts of Canadian veterans and their families, ensuring that their stories would echo into the future.
His influence was not confined to exhibitions. Dr. Cook mentored an entire generation of historians. He traveled, taught, lectured, and published — always with a clarity and empathy that made complex narratives feel alive. His life’s work was grounded in one conviction: that the stories of service, sacrifice, and resilience belong to all Canadians, and that they deserve to be told with nuance, honesty, and heart.
He was a prolific author. His published works tally nineteen books alongside numerous scholarly articles. That earned him a host of awards: four Ottawa Book Awards for Literary Non-Fiction (a record), two J.W. Dafoe Book Prizes, two C.P. Stacey Awards, and the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction. His most recent book, The Good Allies, was shortlisted for the 2025 Lionel Gelber Prize, affirming his reputation not just as a Canadian chronicler, but as a voice in global military history.
Beyond writing, Dr. Cook led Studies in Canadian Military History, an academic–public collaboration with UBC Press. Under his editorship, it became a bridge between rigorous scholarship and public engagement — a reflection of how he viewed history itself: as a conversation, not a monologue.
His honors were numerous and meaningful: he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation, and a Governor General’s History Award. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and, fittingly, a Member of the Order of Canada — all symbols of his deep influence on Canadian cultural life.
Dr. Cook’s passing came at age 54. Reports indicate he had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease in the past, though the family has not released a precise cause of death. He leaves behind a wife, three daughters, and a vast community of colleagues, readers, and learners.
As Dromaguet noted, “Tim Cook was not only a brilliant historian but also a passionate ambassador for Canada’s military past. His impact on the Museum, on his colleagues, and on Canadians’ understanding of our history will be felt for generations.” Right now, that legacy feels all the more personal — as though, through his books, exhibits, and stories, a part of our national conversation has gone silent.
But it hasn’t, and it won’t. Dr. Cook’s galleries still stand. His words still resonate. The voices he so carefully recorded will continue to speak. In every Canadian who pauses before a memorial, in every student who picks up Shock Troops or The Secret History of Soldiers, in every veteran who hears their own story reflected — his work lives on.
