Funeral service held at Chapel of Newberry's Funeral Home, Whangarei, followed by private cremation.

Lance Sergeant W. P. Cottrell, MM; Whangarei; born NZ 8 May 1916; metalworker's assistant; wounded 22 Jul 1942. (Source: Cody, J.F. NZ Engineers, Middle East. p.431.)

'One of the undulations referred to rose to a sharp peak (Point 180) and the traffic flowed around each side where the going was not too steep. Point 180 was the infantry start line, and the engineers parked their trucks in the lee of the peak and waited for the barrage, which opened with a roaring crash.

There was a good moon as the sappers put the gap-clearing drill into operation, one party on each side of the inter-battalion axis and about a quarter of a mile apart. The field, about 400 yards in depth, was exceedingly dangerous because the mines were laid in knee-high barley, tall grass and shrubs, and visual searching had to give place to bayonet prodding. Detectors, owing to the distance they had to be held from the ground, were of little use. Sergeant Ross and Corporal Cottrell were awarded MMs for their courageous leadership and example that night. Lieutenant Pickmere, also decorated with the MC for, among other things, moving ahead of his sappers in search of S-mines, rather writes down a very tradesmanlike job of minelifting:

‘Much shouting from our boys in unmistakable NZ invective as well as the cries of the Ities: tracer bullets down both our flanks and then right through us, so we went to ground and it certainly rained lead for 15 to 20 minutes. It was ricochetting all around us and tearing into the grass alongside us—cutting pieces off bushes. It seemed inevitable that many men must be hit but nobody called out until about five minutes, when Stan over on my right called out Man hit. I went over to him and asked who was hit and he said quite simply, Me. I looked where a bullet had gone into his shoulder and then called for the RAP man—a new man who was having his first taste of war and he was very dickey of moving around; but once he got up and had a job to do he seemed as right as rain. Bandaged Stan up and then he eventually walked himself out—not badly hurt; and that was our only casualty.’' (Source: Cody, J.F. NZ Engineers, Middle East. p. 431.) AWMM