Friends of the Somme - Mid Ulster Branch  
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5849   Rifleman William Cotter
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Dated added: 30/12/2015   Last updated: 09/02/2021
Personal Details
Regiment/Service: 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles (British Army)
Date Of Birth: 02/10/1879
Died: 16/06/1915 (Killed in Action)
Age: 35
Summary      
William Cotter was born in Aughnacloy on 2nd October 1879. He was the second oldest of at least eight children, all born in the Aughnacloy area.He lived in Belfast and was employed by Belfast tramways. William was a reservist and enlisted in Belfast. Rifleman William Cotter was serving with the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles when he was killed in action on the Western Front at the Battle of Bellewaarde on 16th June 1915. He was wounded early on the morning of the 16th, but refused to go to the dressing station, and later on in the day a shell exploded close to his trench which caused it to fall in and Rifleman Cotter was buried in the debris.
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 William Cotter
Cemetery Details
Cemetery: Menin Gate
  Ypres (Ieper), West-Vlaanderen
Grave Ref: Panel 40
CWGC Casualty 1607985
Summary      
Ypres (now Ieper) is a town in the Province of West Flanders. The Memorial is situated at the eastern side of the town on the road to Menin (Menen) and Courtrai (Kortrijk). Each night at 8 pm the traffic is stopped at the Menin Gate while members of the local Fire Brigade sound the Last Post in the roadway under the Memorial's arches.
References and Links
No Link Reference Map Doc
1 Battle of Bellewaarde Photo of William Cotter
2 Belfast Street Directory 1912 7 Copperfield Street - James Hunter, seaman
3 Ireland Memorial Record Lists William Cotter from Aughnacloy
4 National Archives UK Medal Card can be purchased here
5 Sapper Thomas Cotter Brother of Rifleman Willliam Cotter
Dungannon District's War Dead Acknowledgements 2015-2023