William Reginald Cotter
Corporal, 6th Battalion, East Kent Regiment (The Buffs)
- Register No.
- 260 (Alf's numbering, from The Register of the Victoria Cross, 1997)
- Rank
- Corporal (register: Acting Corporal) all Corporals →
- Unit
- 6th Battalion, East Kent Regiment (The Buffs) (register: Buffs (East Kent Regiment)) all Buffs (East Kent Regiment) VCs →
- Date of action
- 6 March 1916 on this day → all of 1916 →
- Conflict / campaign
- First World War
- London Gazette
- 30th March 1916 on this day → all of 1916 →
- Born
- in March 1883 (actual date not known) at Folkestone, Kent
- Died
- 14th March, 1916 at Lillers, France. (died of wounds)
- Award
- Posthumous all posthumous VCs →
- Memorial / grave
- at Lillers Communal Cemetery, France and on the War Memorial, Sandgate, Kent
Digest of citation
On 6th March, 1916, near the Hohenzollern Redoubt, France, Corporal Cotter's leg was blown off at the knee and he was also wounded in both arms. He nevertheless made his way unaided for 50 yards up to a crater, steadied the men who were holding it, controlled their fire, issued orders and altered their disposition to meet a fresh counter-attack. For two hours he held his position and only allowed his wounds to be roughly dressed when the attack had quietened down. He could not be moved back for 14 hours and during all this time he had a cheery word for everyone
From Alf Askin's research notes
Reproduced as Alf wrote it, c. 2000–2005. Spelling and abbreviations are his own.
COTTER, William Reginald. (reg No. 260).
Corporal. 6th Battalion, East Kent Regiment (The Buffs).
London Gazetted on 30th March 1916.
Born in March 1883 (actual date not known) at Folkestone, Kent.
Died on 14th March, 1916 at Lillers, France. (died of wounds).
Memorial on grave at Lillers Communal Cemetery, France and on the War Memorial, Sandgate, Kent.
Digest of Citation reads:. On 6th March, 1916, near the Hohenzollern Redoubt, France, Corporal Cotter's leg was blown off at the knee and he was also wounded in both arms. He nevertheless made his way unaided for 50 yards up to a crater, steadied the men who were holding it, controlled their fire, issued orders and altered their disposition to meet a fresh counter-attack. For two hours he held his position and only allowed his wounds to be roughly dressed when the attack had quietened down. He could not be moved back for 14 hours and during all this time he had a cheery word for everyone
Visit the grave or memorial
Alf recorded the memorial as: at Lillers Communal Cemetery, France and on the War Memorial, Sandgate, Kent
Map links open a search for the place name Alf recorded; please check opening times and exact locations before travelling. Many VC graves have since been restored by the Victoria Cross Trust.
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