Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Charles Dudley Cottle (Dudley)

Private 2480, 27th Battalion

Charles Dudley Cottle, who appeared to have been known by his middle name was born in Port Pirie South Australia in about February 1896.
His parents were William and Annie Cottle, and he was their 2nd son, according to newspaper reports. William and Annie were living in the Unley area when Dudley enlisted.
At the time he enlisted he was 5’ 7 1/2” tall and weighed 152 pounds. He had a medium complexion, grey eyes and brown hair. He was a Methodist, although there is no mention of a strong affiliation with the church mentioned in any articles written about him.
He was initially educated at the Port Pirie School and was a brilliant student. He completed his primary certificate in 1909, his Junior Certificate in 1910 and his Senior in 1911, also winning the Gold Medal for the school and a 2 year scholarship at Adelaide High School, which he took up. After completing school, he joined the firm of B. D. Colvin to complete his articles as a commercial accountant and was working there when he enlisted. He had served in the militia, initially for 1 year with the 81st Senior Cadets before transferring to the 72nd Senior Cadets for 2 years while at Adelaide High School and then he served with the 22nd Light Horse, of which he was still a member until he enlisted in the AIF.
He initially sought to enlist on the 25th June 1915, but it was not until the 16th July that he took the oath. He was originally assigned to N Group but on the 14th September he was assigned to the 5th reinforcement of the 27th Battalion.
He embarked from Adelaide on the “Themostocles” on the 15th October. He arrived in Egypt and it was there on the 12th January 1916 that he joined the 27th Battalion. The battalion left Egypt on the 15th March and arrived in Marseilles on the 21st. The 27th was among the first Australian units to go to the Western Front and the troops were taken north across France on trains to the area of northern France around the Belgium border. This was known as a “Nursery Area” where inexperienced troops were given time to adapt to life in the trenches.
The battalion was first billeted near Morbecque which is just south of Hazebrouck. Here they trained in the use of gas masks. On April 5th they moved to Armentieres and began the cycle moving between reserve trenches, support trenches and frontline trenches. During the month of April, 2 men from the battalion were accidently killed but there were no battle deaths. This continued throughout May with occasional breaks in billets behind the lines. The same routine occurred in June after the battalion moved further north to the Messines area. The battalion diary mentions raids being undertaken by the battalion in which a number of German soldiers were killed while others were captured and taken prisoner. Enemy artillery increased and there is a mention of a number of casualties as a result of this activity. In April and May the CO named all ranks who were killed during a day in his Unit Diary but by June he was no longer doing this. Dudley wrote a letter home during this time which was published in the Wooroora Producer (Balaklava) on the 12th August 1916.
“A mail last week brought letters with interesting news from some of the fine lads whose names are appearing in recent cables in the list of killed. In the Register last Monday there was a brief reference to the receipt of news of the death in action, on July 1, of Pte. Dudley Cottle.

One of the last letters written by the young man before his death (it was dated June 20), said : — "We are now on a new front. You may think you have had some rain in South Australia. If you were here, you would think it never did anything else but rain. If you enquire the whereabouts of a chap you're told ''Oh, he's somewhere in the mud." . . . We seldom get a full night's sleep. Either it is fatigue duty or else a gas alarm to keep one from sleeping too soundly. ... At present we acting as reserves, but expect to take over our new position in a couple of days. . . . We've had some real character billets lately. The last one we were in consisted mainly of a loft on top of a cowshed, we had to sleep on 3in. x 2 in. joists, placed a foot apart, and covered with straw. Frequently a chap would wake up to find only his body in the loft while his legs would be suspended from the ceiling of the cowshed. Just now we are in little low huts, 15 to a hut, with -a grand wooden promenade along the front of them, followed by a fine potato patch, and then a wheat crop. The night before we left the trenches last we had a lively' hour's bombardment, during which one of my chums was killed. He was going for a stretcher for a wounded man when a big shell burst near him, and although he was not even scratched he was killed. Evidently it was the effect of the concussion."
According to the official records Dudley was killed in action on the 1st July 1916. Witness statements say that he was hit by a shell, which was the most common cause of death in World War 1. There is no mention of any deaths in the battalion diary that day, however the entry for June 30th mentions a heavy bombardment during the evening that killed 2 Other Ranks and wounded 15 more. Due to the way that army records were organised, Dudley may have been one of the two who were killed that evening and then his death recorded the following day when the roll was called.
Dudley was described by those who knew him as a young man with great potential, potential that was never to be realised as his life was cut short in the trenches of northern France.
Dudley was entitled to 3 medals, the 1914-15 Star as he enlisted in that time frame, as well as the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

He was buried in the cemetery at La Plus Douve Farm, where he remains at rest to this day, his grave carefully and respectfully tended to by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.