Nicholas Cocking joined the Army in 1954, and was commissioned into the 7th Royal Tank Regiment in 1955. His military career included: service in the Persian Gulf, with the Trucial Oman Scouts from 1960; Regimental Adjutant in Aden [Adan, Yemen], 1963; Malaysia, serving against the Indonesians, 1963; returning to Sandhurst as a Company Instructor in tactics; serving as an intelligence officer in Bahrein, 1970-71; serving with the British Army of the Rhine in Germany; infantry Company Commander and later Commanding Officer of the 4th Royal Tank Regiment, Northern Ireland, 1976-78; returning to Germany with the 1st British Corps as General Staff Officer 1 (Operations), then Chief of Staff 4th Armoured Division; ending his career after a brief spell with the Ministry of Defence with seven years as Commander of the British Mission attached to the Saudi National Guard, from 1984. His awards include the General Service Medal.