Private 12017 Albert Cotterill

Killed in Action on Wednesday, 18th November 1914, age 22.
Commemorated on Panel 17 and 18 of Le Touret Memorial, Pas De Calais, France.

1st Bn., Worcestershire Regiment. 24th Brigade of 8th Division.

Son of the late Samuel and Sarah Cotterill, of 36, Bloomfield Rd., Tipton, Staffs.
Born: Tipton, Enlisted: Dudley, Resident: Tipton.

First landed France & Flanders, 5th November 1914.
Medal entitlement: 1914 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal.
Soldier's Papers at National Archives did not survive.

Not commemorated on any Tipton memorial.
Commemorated here because identified as Tipton on 'Soldiers Died in the Great War'.

Link to Commonwealth War Graves Site: www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1559475/

Genealogical Data

Birth of Albert Cotterill registered June quarter 1892 in Dudley.

1901 Census
34 Bloomfield Road, Tipton, Staffs.
Sarah Cotterill (40, Widow, Brickmaker), and her 4 children: John (16, Bricklayer's Labourer, born Tipton), Esther (12, born Tipton), Albert (9, born Tipton), and Minnie (5, born Tipton).

1911 Census
Albany Barracks, Parkhurst, Isle of Wight, Hampshire
Albert Cotterill, Private in 1st Battalion Worcestershire Regiment, age 19, born Tipton.

Personal Data

The CWGC records Albert as being 24 years of age. I believe this to be an error and that he was 22 years of age which ties up with the 1901 and 1911 Census information.

Action resulting in his death

Albert was a pre-war regular with the Worcesters, and in 1911 was stationed at Parkhurst on the Isle of Wight with the 1st Battalion, Worcesters. On the outbreak of war they were stationed in Egypt, were recalled and landed in Liverpool on 16th October 1914.
The 1st Worcsters were attached to 24th Brigade in 8th Division, and landed in Le Havre on 5th/6th November 1914. They were posted to the Neuve Chapelle area, where the line had stabilised after fierce fighting in October.

From the 14th to 19th November, the 1st Worcesters held a line along the La Bassée - Estaires road to the west of Neuve Chapelle. They held a frontage of 1000 yards, from Port Arthur (the site of today's Indian Memorial) northwards, using the west embankment of the road rather than trenches.

Throughout these days the Germans bombarded the lines with regularity and ferocity, the Worcesters suffering from the cold after the extremes of Egypt. The 1st Worcesters had 21 men killed before they were relieved on the 19th November. One of the 7 men killed on the 18th November was Albert Cotterill, he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Le Touret Memorial.

Newspaper Cuttings

None.