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From François Berthout

LCpl 5312 John Harold Cotterill
21st Australian Infantry Battalion,
6th Brigade, 2nd Australian Division
 
In the fields of the Somme, grow along the white graves, the poppies of remembrance which undulate in the breeze in silent waves and which remind us that more than a hundred years ago, on these fields which became silent, fought and fell thousands of young men, a whole generation who served with bravery and who rest in peace side by side, eternally bound by the mateship and the fraternity in which they lived and in which they gave their lives.Gone but not forgotten, the war never had the last word on them and today, more than ever, they live and stand proudly beside their brothers in arms. United under the flame of remembrance that we will always carry with honor and gratitude, we will always remember them with respect, we will keep their memory and their stories alive and strong so that they are never forgotten and so that they live forever.

Today, it is with the highest respect and gratitude that I would like to honor the memory of one of these young men, one of my boys of the Somme who gave his today for our tomorrow.I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Lance Corporal number 5312 John Harold Cotterill who fought in the 21st Australian Infantry Battalion, 6th Brigade, 2nd Australian Division, and who died of his wounds 103 years ago, on September 2, 1918 at the age of 30 on the Somme front.

John Harold Cotterill was born in 1888 in Birmingham, England, and was the son of Samuel and Emma Cotterill, of 148 Banks Road, Small Heath, Birmingham. John was educated at the Clifton-Road Council and Waverley-Road School. On April 8, 1907, he enlisted in the 5th Battalion of the Warwickshire Regiment in which he served for five years, was discharged on April 1, 1912 then he emigrated to Australia at the age of 24 and lived at 59 Davies Avenue, South Yarra, Victoria, where he worked as a iron safe maker.

John enlisted on January 20, 1916 at Prahran, Victoria, as Lance Corporal in the 21st Australian Infantry Battalion, 14th Reinforcement, and after a six month training period at Broadmeadows Camp, Victoria, he embarked with his unit from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A32 Themistocles on July 28, 1916 and sailed for England.

On September 11, 1916, John arrived in England and was disembarked in Plymouth then joined two days later, on September 13, the 6th Training Battalion with which he completed his training and on November 16, he embarked with his battalion from Folkestone, on board SS Victoria and proceeded overseas for France.

On November 17, 1916, after crossing the English Channel, John arrived in France and was disembarked at Etaples where he joined the 2nd Australian Divisional Base Depot and was reverted to the rank of Private the same day and a month later, on December 2, he joined his unit at Flesselles, near Amiens, in the Somme and fought with great courage at Fricourt then at Trones Wood in January 1917, Flers and La Barque in March.

Two months later, on May 1, 1917, John and the 21st Australian Infantry Battalion were sent to Ecoust-St-Mein and were deployed along the front line in preparation for the battle of Bullecourt where they attacked on May 3 at 3:45am with the support of the British troops on their left flank under very heavy German artillery fire but succeeded in taking and holding the OG1 Trench despite very heavy losses, 125 men were killed in the attack and the 21st Battalion was relieved by the 1st Brigade the next day and were sent back to the Somme, to Mametz for a period of rest which allowed the battalion to reorganize.

The months of June, July and August were rather calm for John and the 21st Australian Infantry Battalion who alternated between periods of rest and training at Millencourt, Somme and Beaulencourt, Pas-De-Calais but on September 30, 1917, the battalion was sent to Ypres and a few days later, on October 4, John fought with exceptional bravery at Broodseinde Ridge and was awarded by the French of the French Medaille Militaire for his acts of courage on the battlefield with the following citation:

"At Broodseinde ridge, on 04/10/1917 this Non-Commissioned Officer used his Lewis Gun with great bravery, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy.He assisted in a flank attack on a pillbox and firing from the hip as he advanced used his gun with excellent effect.Whilst consolidation was in progress he pushed forward with his gun under heavy rifle fire and took up a commanding position from which though almost isolated he used his gun with effective results thus allowing the newly won ground to be held.This Non-Commissioned Officer has constantly proved his courage, coolness and reliability under fire."

On October 15, 1917 John was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal in Steenvorde, and the following month,on November 30, he was granted leave in England and returned to his unit on December 17 in Ploegsteert, Belgium, where he fought until January 12, 1918 then was sent to rest with his battalion before returning to Ploegsteert on March 7 and relieved the 36th Australian Infantry Battalion but on March 21, 1918, the German army launched its spring offensive and on April 5, the battaillon was sent to the Somme and arrived by train in Amiens and the following month, fought in Ville-Sur-Ancre then in Blangy-Tronville on June 28 and Villers-Bretonneux on July 3 and the following month, after particularly difficult battles, he was granted a leave on August 4 in Paris and returned to his battalion on August 19 but unfortunately, it was two weeks later, on September 2, 1918, that John met his fate.

On August 31, 1918, the battle of Mont St Quentin began and John, along with the 21st Australian Infantry Battalion were involved in an attack on September 1 alongside the 23rd and 24th Battalion in support but during the assault John was seriously wounded by a shrapnel in the head and was immediately evacuated to the 9th Australian Field Ambulance then to the 61st casualty Clearing Station in Daours, Somme, on September 2, but he died a few hours later, he was 30 years old.

Today, Lance Corporal John Harold Cotterill rests in peace with his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at the Daours Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription "As a child he played being a soldier, as a soldier he played the man."

John, you who answered to the call of duty with courage and conviction in the prime of your life and who in the trenches and on the battlefields of the great war, gave your today and your life in the name of peace and freedom I would like today, from the bottom of my heart to say thank you for everything you have done for Australia and France, two countries linked in friendship, respect and remembrance and who stand united in front of you, in front of the rows of white graves of your brothers in arms who, like you, gave their all and shed their blood on the devastated fields of the Somme on which millions of men, a whole generation was mown down under the fire of the machine guns and shells which fell on the poppies which turned blood red in an ocean of mud bruised and disfigured by the steel of barbed wire in which a whole youth was stopped under the lead and the shrapnel which pulverized and mutilated thousands of brave men who moved side by side in no man's land and who were swept away by the fires of hell that consumed the world in death and destruction.Young and brave, under the rains of howling metal, these men have known hell on earth and fought with exceptional bravery, their feet in mud and blood, their bodies frozen and bent under the weight of clay, they stood proudly beside their comrades, they made their country proud and wore their color with loyalty by being united by comradeship in the ANZAC spirit and faced death and danger with their heads high and with their brave hearts, they never backed down and were deeply loved and admired by their brothers in arms and the French people for whom they gave their lives and whom they helped by wearing on their faces, smiles and eyes full of hope that were a light in the darkness.In the Somme, alongside their comrades, they were involved in all the battles which were among the deadliest of the war as were Pozieres, Mouquet Farm, Flers, Gueudecourt, Bazentin, Amiens, Villers-Bretonneux and paid the price of blood for each meter of French land conquered, the Somme was, more than a hundred years ago, a butcher's shop, a nightmare but today, thinking of all our Diggers, the words honor, bravery, gallanterie, mateship, devotion, brotherhood are those who come into my heart behind the name of the Somme and these are the names, the faces of these heroes that I think of when I speak of the battle of the Somme, of the heroes who today, under the roses and the poppies, rest in peace under their white tombs behind which they still stand with pride under the Australian and French flag and for which they paid the supreme sacrifice.They were young, had a life, a family, loved ones, relatives with whom I am proud and honored to be in contact and with whom I am proud to perpetuate Franco-Australian friendship and it is with the highest respect, with love and infinite gratitude that I would watch over their sons, their men, my boys of the Somme to keep their memory alive, I would always be present for them so that they are remembered and honored but also to honor the spirit of ANZAC which here, in the Somme, will never cease to live.Thank you so much John,for everything.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them.