Thursday, April 30, 2015

Anzac Centenary: eight went to war and all came home

From the Maitland Mercury report:
Amid the horrors of World War I stories sometimes emerge of families being spared the heartbreak of a death or injury of a loved one.
And so it happened to the Cotton family of Branxton, where eight brothers fought during that war and all of them survived.
Rob Cotton, 84, of Branxton has carefully collected photographs of his family’s involvement in the war.
And he is searching for campaign details of one of the brothers in particular – his father Benjamin Cotton.
“I think Dad and his seven brothers must have been extraordinarily lucky,” Mr Cotton said.
“All eight of them joined up, fighting with Maitland’s 34th Battalion.
“And they all came out of it unhurt."

Full article available at Maitland Mercury, April 23, 2015.