John Cloake was born 2 December 1924, son of Dr Cecil Stedman Cloake, Wimbledon, and Maude Osborne Newling. He was educated at King’s College School, Wimbledon, and Peterhouse College, University of Cambridge. In 1956 he married Margaret Thomure Morris (d 2008), of Washington, USA; they had one son.

After serving in the Army, 1943-46 (Lieutenant, Royal Engineers), Cloake entered the Foreign Office in 1948, and during his career served in the following posts: 3rd Secretary, Baghdad [Iraq], 1949, and Saigon [Vietnam], 1951; 2nd Secretary, 1952; FO, 1954; Private Secretary to Permanent Under-Secretary [Ivone Kirkpatrick], 1956, and to Parliamentary Under- Secretary [Ian Harvey], 1957; 1st Secretary, 1957; Consul (Commercial), New York [United States], 1958; 1st Secretary, Moscow [Soviet Union], 1962; FO, 1963; Diplomatic Service Administration Office, 1965; Counsellor, 1966; Head of Accommodation Department, 1967; Counsellor (Commercial), Tehran [Iran], 1968-72; Fellow, Centre for International Studies, LSE, 1972-73; Head of Trade Relations and Exports Department, FCO, 1973-76; Ambassador to Bulgaria, 1976-80. Cloake died on 9 July 2014.