Sammy 'Billy' Cotton |
A Dec 02 Norfolk
newspaper article opened:
‘Brothers in arms of a young soldier killed in the ‘forgotten war’ undid
nearly half a century of neglect when a plaque was dedicated to his memory in a North
Norfolk Church.’
It marked the fitting conclusion to a
remarkable story of dedication by Norfolk National Serviceman Keith Lown, told here
by Bill Buller (Typed by Ivy Buller and send on disc. Thanks. Ed.), a fellow pupil
at Aldborough School with Sammy.
Private Samuel George Cotton was killed in Korea at the end of the war in June 1953 aged
20. Sammy (nicknamed Billy) and Keith Lown, a fellow R Norfolk National Serviceman,
travelled to the Far East on the Empire Pride.
On arrival they were transferred to the Durham Light Infantry and in Nov 52 placed in
different companies near Korea’s 38th Parallel line of division. That was the last
time Keith saw him. It was not until he was back in England that Keith heard of
Sammy’s death while out on patrol. |
In the 1960s, Keith was
passing Alby church and thought he would take a look at Sammy’s memorial only to find
that there wasn’t one, only a folded piece of card bearing his name propped up
against the font.
In 2001, Keith, with David Smith, also a Korean Veteran and Standard Bearer for Aylsham
RBL, began investigating to see if things could be put right.
On 1 Dec 02 Fellow Korean Veterans, Sammy’s Family and friends gathered in St
Ethelbert’s Church at Alby where a wooden plaque, carved and given voluntarily by
Geoffrey Ducker, President of Aylsham RBL, was dedicated to Sammy and a KV wreath was laid
by Bill Chapman.
The Korean war is called the ‘forgotten war’ but those who were there will never
forget it nor the 1078 UK soldiers killed. Over half the British contingent were National
Servicemen such as Sammy.
The standards of the DLI, Sammy’s Regt when he died, and the Korean Veteran’s
Association, headed the procession at the service, conducted by the rector of Alby, the
Revd Brian Faulkner and the Revd John Pumphrey of Aylsham. Standard Bearers came from as
far afield as Northampton, Ely and Ipswich. Last post and Reveille was played by Philip
Green. |
Bill Buller,
David Smith
and Keith Lown |
Bill
Buller told the packed church how Sammy loved to play football and about their pole
jumping over a local river, quite often not making it and ending up in the water. When
roller skating at the Roller Drome in Cromer they got in a long line and the one on the
end would go quicker than those at the front. Once, Sammy was next to last with his mate
holding on to his jumper. As they went round, getting quicker and quicker, his jumper
started to unravel and by the time they had stopped he had lost half his jumper. Bill
often wondered what Sammy’s mum said when he got home!
After his 2002 revisit to Korea (see B&C 98 Jun 02), Bill said how emotional was his
visit to the UN Memorial Cemetery at Pusan where Sammy’s is one of 2293 graves, kept
in immaculate condition.
Keith told the congregation how he first met Sammy at Blenheim Camp, Bury St Edmunds,
after they were called up in Mar 1952 and how on their day leave they would hitch to
Norwich then catch the midnight mail train back to Bury and face a 2 mile walk back to
camp in the early hours.
After the service Mrs Kimberly very kindly opened up the church rooms where a very welcome
cup of tea and refreshments was served. It was while we were enjoying a cup of tea that
three copies of the book ‘The Durhams in Korea 1952-1953’ signed by Col John
Lightley, Sammy’s Pl Comd were given on behalf of the DLI Association to Sammy’s
family by John Waller.
B&C 100 Jun 03 |
|
