Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of Margaret Cottam of Lennox Street, Maryborough, QLD

Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal

Served his apprenticeship with H. Hills of Maryborough, QLD

# 5665 COTTAM Ernest John              15th Battalion
 
Ernest Cottam was born in Lincolnshire. He emigrated to Queensland with his family who settled in Maryborough, Qld. After leaving school, Ernest served a hairdressing apprenticeship with a Mr Hills and by the time of his enlistment he was working as a hairdresser in Nanango.
 
Ernest presented himself to the recruiting depot in Brisbane on 18th January 1916. He stated his age as 33 years and gave his address as Post Office Nanango. Ernest named his mother, Margaret of Maryborough as his next of kin. His father was already deceased. After spending some time in a depot battalion at Enoggera, Ernest was drafted into the 18th reinforcements of the 15th Battalion. The reinforcements boarded the “Seang Choon” in Brisbane on 4th May and disembarked at Suez on 25th June.
 
After the failure of Gallipoli in 1915, the AIF regrouped in Egypt. Flush with a large number of recruits who had enlisted in response to flattering newspaper reports and a recruiting drive, the AIF was able to double in size from two divisions to four. As new and reconstituted battalions were assembled, they were sent across the Mediterranean to take part in the much larger conflict on the Western Front. When Ernest and his mates arrived in Egypt, this reorganisation and shipment to France was almost completed. The 18th reinforcements were surplus to requirements, at least until the casualty figures began to mount.
 
On 6th August, as the four new Australian divisions were heading into the bloodbath that was Fromelles, Pozieres and Mouquet Farm on the Somme, Ernest boarded a ship in Alexandria bound for Plymouth and then on to the 4th Training Battalion at Rollestone on Salisbury Plain.
 
The appalling casualties suffered by the AIF in the Somme campaign (23,000 killed, wounded and missing) meant that the reinforcements in England would need to be taken on. In October, Ernest crossed the English Channel to the 4th Division Base Depot at Etaples. On 16th October, Ernest marched in to the 15th Battalion billets in the rear area behind the front near Armentieres. By December, the battalion was back at the front rotating between front line and reserve positions.
 
The winter of 1916/17 was recorded as one of the harshest on record and the Australians were unused to the frost, snow and mud. The uniform issued in Australia was incapable of handling such cold and soldiers had to rely on parcels from home with long underwear, scarves and balaclavas. There was even an issue of rough sheepskin vests which had been hastily sourced from Australia.
 
In January 1917, the 15th Battalion was posted back to the Somme where the battalion took up position in the line at Gueudecourt, a mere 10 kilometres from Pozieres. A raid involving two companies from the 15thwas scheduled for the 1st February. During the charge, according to an eye witness, Ernest’s section had almost reached the German wire. The witness stated that he had seen Ernest’s body lying near the wire before the survivors were forced to retire. Ernest was posted as missing and after time elapsed to determine if he had been taken prisoner or was seriously ill in hospital, a court of inquiry determined that Ernest had been killed in action on 1st February 1917. His remains were never recovered.
 
Ernest Cottam is one of 10,000 Australians who lost their lives in France during the war but have no known grave. He is commemorated on the stone tablets of the Australian National Memorial at Villers Bretonneux. Ernest’s mother had remarried by the time that medals were being distributed in 1922.