Corporal William Cotter, VC

 

We learnt about Corporal Cotter when we visited the War Memorial in Sandgate and knew then that he needed his own post. This heroic man who was awarded the Victoria Cross for good reason isn't talked about enough and we hope to change that.

Born in Folkestone in 1882, William Richard Cotter was 33 years old when he died. He was an acting Corporal in the 6th Battalion (The Buffs, East Kent Regiment) in the First World War and was stationed near Hohenzollern Redoubt in France.

It was the 6th of March 1916, Corporal Cotter had been hit. His leg was blown off at the knee and both arms wounded, but despite this he still travelled unaided for 50 yards to a crater. The Corporal steadied the men there, controlled their fire, kept up morale, issued orders and altered their dispositions for a fresh counter attack. He kept this up for two hours and it was only when the attacking force had begun to quiet that he allowed his wounds to be roughly wrapped. He remained alive for another 14 hours as he could not be moved for all this time and he continued his cheery demeanour up until he died.

Corporal Cotter was buried at Lillers Communal Cemetery in France and awarded the Victoria Cross for the sacrifice of his life at benefit for those fighting for British victory. His VC was originally on display at The Buggs Regimental Museum in Canterbury but was moved with the rest of the collection to the National Army Museum.

We cannot imagine the pain that man was in. He'd lost a limb and two were rendered useless and yet he likely dragged himself toward those men to assist them. He no doubt knew he was going to die and yet continued to be of service anyway instead of getting the help which could have saved him. He didn't let his impending death impact his men and tried to cheer them. A true hero and a Folkestone one at that. It's a shame he couldn't be brought home, but thank you Corporal for your sacrifice.

This one is again a short but important one. We felt it only right that we share about this man as a paving stone at a memorial just didn't seem enough. We hope his name gets known.