COTCHING, George Albert
| Service Number: | 3073 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 September 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 32nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Hayes, Middlesex, England, 1892 |
| Home Town: | Midland Junction, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Brunt Hill Home, Hanwell, Middlesex, England |
| Occupation: | Dairy Hand |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Fromelles, France, 20 July 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
Ration Farm Military Cemetery, la Chapelle-D'Armentieres Plot VI, Row K, Grave No. 26, La Chapelle d'Armentieres, France, Ration Farm Military Cemetery, La Chapelle-D'armentieres, Lille, Nord Pas de Calais, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Sep 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3073, 32nd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Sep 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3073, 28th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1 | |
| 18 Jan 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3073, 28th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Medic embarkation_ship_number: A7 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3073, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix), --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3073 awm_unit: 32nd Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-07-20 |
Court of Inquiry Findings
Court of Enquiry, held in the field, 12 August 1917, pronounced fate as 'Killed in Action, 20 July 1916'.
Note, Red Cross File No 810604: 'No trace Germany[.] Cert. by Capt. Mills. 10.10.19.'
Statement, 3235 Pte W.G. PODMORE, C Company, 32nd Bn (patient, Woodcote Park Hospital, England), 23 October 1916: 'On 19th July at Fleurbaix, in No Man's Land, Cotching and Pte Dean passed informant (who was lying wounded) on their way to Dressing Station - both wounded in the leg. This was at 5 p.m. Informant watched them get safely into our trench. Since then Dean has been reported killed. The presumption is that were caught by another shell.'
Second statement, 951 Pte H. HEARNE, 32nd Bn (patient, Thornton Heath Hospital, England), 17 November 1916: 'Informant states that George Cotching was shot in the shin and the face by shrapnel just as he was going over the parapet. Immediately afterwards Informant was wounded himself.'
Letter, Marion COTCHING, to Red Cross, 30 December 1916: 'I am afraid there is very little hope that he was not killed and although it is a terrible grief [I[ am - like thousands of other Mothers - proud that he died doing his duty.'
Submitted 20 October 2021 by Steve Larkins
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