GROUPS AND SINGLE DECORATIONS FOR GALLANTRY 145
A rare Second World War escaper’s M.M. group of five awarded to Warrant Officer A. R. Cottle, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, who, having already gained membership of the Goldfish Club, was wounded on the occasion his Beaufighter was downed by Me. 109s off Kalimnos in the Aegean in November 1943: unlike his pilot, he was fortunate to escape the wreckage and was picked up in his dinghy by an E-Boat off Kos - subsequently taken to an Italian convent hospital, he made a successful bid from freedom to Turkey in a caique MILITARY MEDAL,
G.VI.R. (1265632 Sgt. A.R. Cottle. R.A.F.); 1939-45 STAR, ITALY STAR, DEFENCE AND WAR MEDALS 1939-45, generally good very fine (5)
£3400-3800
M.M. London Gazette 16 May 1944. The original recommendation states: ‘On the 16 November 1943 Sergeant Cottle was the Navigator of a Beaufighter which was shot down by an Me. 109 near Kalimnos while attacking a Siebel ferry. When the aircraft hit the water, Cottle was still inside. He clambered out on the mainplane where he became entangled in the wireless aerial and was unable to free himself until after he had been dragged under the water by the sinking aircraft. He had great difficulty in reaching and climbing into the dinghy, which was now some 100 yards away, as his right arm was useless owing to a bullet wound. He spent the rest of the day and the following one making a little headway with the paddles. Late on the following night Sergeant Cottle hailed a passing Schnellboot on patrol and was taken aboard and the next day landed at Kos and taken to an Italian Convent Hospital. He refused to answer any questions put to him by the German interrogating officer and managed to evade questions asked by a Red Cross worker who was a frequent visitor and did her best to cajole him into giving away information. After a few days, he was well enough to explore the possibilities of escape; by selling his watch and lighter, etc., he was able to buy civilian clothes. This enabled him to slip out of the hospital just before the wounded were due to be evacuated by ship. After spending the first night in a trench, he was taken to a barn by some friendly Greeks and later to a safe hiding place in a cave. Each night he went down to the shore to try and contact a caique but not until the night of 5 December was he successful. He was taken to the Turkish coast and then transported to hospital.
This Sergeant has shown great determination in escaping from enemy territory although he was wounded, this is a very fine achievement and an example to others of courage and initiative. I thoroughly recommend that this airman should be awarded the MM’
Alfred Roy Cottle was born in Cardiff on 24 January 1916 and enlisted in the R.A.F.V.R. in September 1940. Having trained as a Navigator in Canada in 1942, he returned to the U.K. and was posted to the Middle East in the summer of 1943, where he joined No. 47 Squadron, a Beaufighter unit.
Thus ensued a spate of ‘Rover’ sorties, his very first outing on 24 August 1943 resulting in his election to the membership of the Goldfish Club, a story best summarised by his Flying Log Book:
‘Rover: attacked schooner N.W. Rome - hit mast - two holes in starboard wing - bottom of fuselage ripped out - jumped by Fw. 190 - ditched off Cani Isle - took to dinghy - sighted by Spitfires - picked up by launch from U.S. destroyer - transferred to H.S.L. taken to Bizerta (1 hour in dinghy) (1 hour to coast). Learned later that schooner had sunk.’
Several further ‘Rovers’ having been undertaken in the interim, Cottle, as described in the above recommendation, was downed for a second time on 16 November 1943. He takes up the story:
‘After attacking target we were ourselves attacked by two Me. 109s and one Arado 196. These planes made one attack which was unsuccessful. One Me. 109 and the Arado then broke off, but the remaining Me. 109 pressed home attack after attack starting at 1000 yards and closing to 20 yards. We kept turning into the attack and also corkscrewing, but we were unsuccessful in shaking off the Me. During its second attack, I received g.s.w. mentioned in previous signal.
Bullets and cannon shells were continuously pouring into the plane. My cupola was completely shot away also fixed aerial and I noticed the extreme tip of the starboard wing had disappeared. These attacks lasted for at least five minutes, then without warning the plane hit the sea. As I was still facing the tail at the moment of impact, I swivelled around and saw F./O. Bond slumped over the controls - whether he had been shot or knocked unconscious I am unable to say. There was a fire burning furiously on the starboard side of the well behind the pilot and this prevented me from getting to F./O. Bond through the fuselage. So I clamboured [sic] on to the port wing and made my way to the pilot’s cockpit, but as soon as I got there the plane sank under me and I went down to some considerable depth entangled in the aerial wire. F./O. Bond went down with the plane. I should like to add that had the V.G.O. been mounted in this plane it is highly probable that we would have beaten off the attacker.’
Of his subsequent journey to Kos and eventual escape, he kept pencilled notes on the cover of his copy of The Pocket Padre. These reveal that he first emerged from his hospital bed in the Italian convent on 25 November and, having endured a second interrogation, made his bid for freedom on 1 December. He reached Bodrum on the Turkish coast by caique on the 5th, Smyrna on the 8th and Aleppo on the 19th and, after further treatment in hospital, A.H.Q. Levant in late January 1944.
Cottle - who attained the rank of Warrant Officer - was released from the R.A.F.V.R. in April 1946. He died in Kendal, Westmorland in February 1972.
Sold with a quantity of original documentation and related items, including the recipient’s R.A.F. Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book, covering the period 13 May 1942 until Cottle’s repatriation on 12 February 1944; his Goldfish Club membership card, in the name of ‘F./Sgt. A. R. Cottle’ and dated 24 August 1943, together with his embroidered Goldfish Club uniform patch; A signed statement by Cottle describing being shot down on 16 November 1943, as cited above; a copy of The Pocket Padre with pencilled escape notes to back cover; a Movement Order dated 28/29 January 1944; his R.A.F. Service and Release Book; a silver rugby prize medal engraved ‘9 S.F.T.S. / R.A.F. Rugby XV 1940-41’, 25.5mm, a broken ‘dog tag’, two R.A.F. Observer’s brevets; a 47 Squadron reunion menu, 1947, with signatures, a newspaper cutting and a copy photograph.
www.dnw.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212 |
Page 213 |
Page 214 |
Page 215 |
Page 216 |
Page 217 |
Page 218 |
Page 219 |
Page 220 |
Page 221 |
Page 222 |
Page 223 |
Page 224 |
Page 225 |
Page 226 |
Page 227 |
Page 228 |
Page 229 |
Page 230 |
Page 231 |
Page 232 |
Page 233 |
Page 234 |
Page 235 |
Page 236 |
Page 237 |
Page 238 |
Page 239 |
Page 240 |
Page 241 |
Page 242 |
Page 243 |
Page 244 |
Page 245 |
Page 246 |
Page 247 |
Page 248 |
Page 249 |
Page 250 |
Page 251 |
Page 252 |
Page 253 |
Page 254 |
Page 255 |
Page 256 |
Page 257 |
Page 258 |
Page 259 |
Page 260 |
Page 261 |
Page 262 |
Page 263 |
Page 264 |
Page 265 |
Page 266 |
Page 267 |
Page 268 |
Page 269 |
Page 270 |
Page 271 |
Page 272 |
Page 273 |
Page 274 |
Page 275 |
Page 276 |
Page 277 |
Page 278 |
Page 279 |
Page 280 |
Page 281 |
Page 282 |
Page 283 |
Page 284 |
Page 285 |
Page 286 |
Page 287 |
Page 288 |
Page 289 |
Page 290 |
Page 291 |
Page 292 |
Page 293 |
Page 294 |
Page 295 |
Page 296 |
Page 297 |
Page 298 |
Page 299 |
Page 300 |
Page 301 |
Page 302 |
Page 303 |
Page 304 |
Page 305 |
Page 306 |
Page 307 |
Page 308 |
Page 309 |
Page 310 |
Page 311 |
Page 312 |
Page 313 |
Page 314 |
Page 315 |
Page 316 |
Page 317 |
Page 318 |
Page 319 |
Page 320 |
Page 321 |
Page 322 |
Page 323 |
Page 324 |
Page 325 |
Page 326 |
Page 327 |
Page 328 |
Page 329 |
Page 330 |
Page 331 |
Page 332 |
Page 333 |
Page 334 |
Page 335 |
Page 336 |
Page 337 |
Page 338 |
Page 339 |
Page 340 |
Page 341 |
Page 342 |
Page 343 |
Page 344 |
Page 345 |
Page 346 |
Page 347 |
Page 348 |
Page 349 |
Page 350 |
Page 351 |
Page 352 |
Page 353 |
Page 354 |
Page 355 |
Page 356 |
Page 357 |
Page 358 |
Page 359 |
Page 360 |
Page 361 |
Page 362 |
Page 363 |
Page 364 |
Page 365 |
Page 366 |
Page 367 |
Page 368 |
Page 369 |
Page 370 |
Page 371 |
Page 372 |
Page 373 |
Page 374 |
Page 375 |
Page 376 |
Page 377 |
Page 378 |
Page 379 |
Page 380