Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 1 clasp, Defence of Ladysmith (4331 Pte. W. Cotterell, Glouc: Regt.) surname partially officially corrected, very fine £120-£160

William Cotterell was born in the Parish of St. Augustine’s, Bristol, in 1875. A labourer, he attested for the Gloucestershire Regiment at Bristol on 6 June 1894, and witnessed extensive service in India, South Africa and Ceylon. Posted to the 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, on 23 February 1897, Cotterell was likely present at the engagement of 24 October 1899 at Rietfontein where the Battalion received their baptism of fire. The events that day were later described by Lieutenant A. H. Radice:

‘For several hours the Battalion remained lying on the open veldt in long lines, fully exposed to Boer fire. The hail of bullets gradually became less but never ceased altogether, every movement on our part drew a burst of heavy fire. Nothing could be seen of the enemy; no movement could be detected in the empty landscape; and yet the double crack of the Mausers and the swish of the bullets went on unceasingly. Hours passed without any change - the casualties mounted up.’

Sir George White prepared Ladysmith for siege, and Cotterell and his comrades were soon digging in and sandbagging with the rest. He survived the siege and returned home to England on 30 December 1902, but was later convicted by the Civil Powers of two charges of assault, leaving the Army in 1910.