Cotton, Thomas Richard – WX299
No soldier in the 2/33rd Battalion had a more distinguished career than WX299 Thomas Richard Worgan Cotton, a former jackeroo who rose from the rank of private to become a Lieutenant Colonel and the Battalion’s Commanding Officer.
Among the first in Western Australia to volunteer with the outbreak of World War II, he was a founding member of the Battalion. By war’s end he had become the most respected, successful and decorated soldier of any rank. He was a born leader whose courage and outstanding abilities were rewarded by the award of a Military Cross for his leadership of A Company in the attack on Fort Khiam, in Syria; the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership of the Battalion in the Ramu Valley campaign, and being twice Mentioned in Despatches. He was a master tactician and fearless in battle, often seen leading his men from the front, seemingly oblivious of danger.
Born in Dover, Kent, in 1907, the second son of Dr. Fred Cotton, a surgeon in the Royal Army Medical Corps and a Boer War veteran, he was inevitably exposed to military life throughout his childhood as the family was posted to various military establishments in the U.K. and India. As a teenager, he joined the Officer Training Corps attached to the Dorset Regiment and begged his father to allow him to attend Sandhurst, but his father refused. Frustrated, Tom and his elder brother Robert secretly arranged to emigrate to rural Victoria and work on their uncles’ farms. When their parents found out, the whole family decided to emigrate to Australia.
The Cotton family arrived in Western Australia in October 1924 and settled in Boyup Brook in the south-west of W.A., where Dr Fred Cotton became the Resident Medical Officer, and where Tom, aged 16, and his mother established a small dairy cattle farming and breeding operation on the outskirts of town.
Tom reluctantly stayed in Boyup Brook until he was 21, when he headed north to the Pilbara to work on pastoral stations as a jackeroo and overseer. It was here that he practised the man-management, bushcraft, survival and planning skills that would prepare him for leadership during WWII. When war was declared, Tom was working as an insurance agent in Perth. He enlisted on November 7, 1939, aged 31, at Subiaco Drill Hall. Tom had entered his chosen career, at last.
Tall and rangy, his penetrating gaze over a full moustache became his most distinguishing feature.
He was posted to the 2/11 Training Battalion, initially in Perth, but later in N.S.W. Showing early leadership potential he rose rapidly through the ranks. The Battalion returned to W.A. in April, 1940, to complete its training and Tom was promoted to Lieutenant in May, just before the Battalion embarked on the “big ship” convoy to the U.K. The 2/11 Battalion continued training in England where Tom was promoted to Captain in July 1940. In October, the Battalion was renamed the 2/33 Battalion and was based in Colchester, Essex where Tom met his future wife, Pamela Levett-Scrivener, from the Women’s Transport Service. Tom and Pam were well-matched, both being intelligent, independent, confident and forthright people. They corresponded throughout the war. The battalion’s initial task was to help defend southern England against a possible German invasion, which dissipated after Germany lost the Battle of Britain.
The battalion then mobilised to the Middle East in January, 1941, and, after some months bolstering the Allies’ defenses along the Libyan frontier, moved north to take part in the invasion of Syria and Lebanon against Vichy French forces. Tom Cotton’s A Company was to cross the frontier and secure the Fort and village of Khiam. Not everything went to plan, but the objectives were achieved and Tom’s leadership was recognised with the award of the Military Cross.
The citation reads: “On 9, 10 and 11 June 1941, he led his Coy in the attack on Fort Khiam, and by his personal example, physical endurance and courage combined with sound tactics, succeeded in capturing the Fort. He inspired his Coy in their first experience of severe shell and mortar bombardment, as well as intense M.G. fire on several occasions. After the capture of Fort Khiam, his subsequent action with regard to Khiam village, which was occupied by M.G.s., particularly sited, was at all times forceful, aggressive, sound and also resulted successfully.”
Tom made a point of learning lessons from each action, and strived to improve the planning and execution of each subsequent action. Under his command, A Company became a hardened, professional fighting force which saw several actions before an Armistice was declared on July 12, 1941. After the Battalion’s recall to Australia in May, 1942, to defend it against the Japanese advance, Tom was promoted to Major and Battalion 2i/c for the Owen Stanley campaign. In this role, he was charged with arranging resupply of the unit and evacuation of wounded men along the Kokoda Trail, a long and narrow supply chain with challenging lines of communication.
Tom moved often between rearward and forward positions and, with the exception of the native bearers, probably walked more of the Kokoda Trail than any of his troops. Tom was described as “indefatigable” and “unflagging” in his efforts, but he later admitted he did not relish the role of 2i/c when in action. The Battalion suffered heavy losses on the Kokoda Trail in terms of men killed, wounded or taken from action with disease.
Following their return to Australia in January 1943, it took several months to re-establish the Battalion strength. In June, Tom was promoted to Lt. Col. and appointed C.O. of the 2/33rd . He set about implementing the invaluable lessons he had learned from the Owen Stanley campaign, training his men hard under tropical conditions, providing them with new and better equipment and building morale through, among other things, sporting achievement.
Lieutenant Colonel Tom Cotton.
He set high standards and had high expectations of his officers and men. With a full complement of 31 officers and 779 other ranks, the 2/33 arrived in Port Moresby again in July, 1944, to take part in the Lae offensive, but
before that battle he had to deal with the horrendous consequence of the Liberator crash, when a fully armed and laden Liberator bomber crashed on take-off, hitting a convoy of trucks loaded with men waiting to emplane at Jackson’s Field for Nadzab, the starting point for the attack on Lae. D Company was decimated, accounting for most of the 60 men who died.
The rest of the Battalion emplaned for the offensive and left six officers and 140 other ranks, almost 20% of the unit, at the crash site. The incident forever remained one of Tom’s nightmares.
The depleted Battalion was to clear the Nadzab-Lae Road from the north bank of the Markham River to the Atzera range, a front of up to 5km wide. With the rest of the 25th Brigade, the Battalion advanced along the road and contacted well-established Japanese defensive positions along the way, relentlessly pushing the Japanese back towards Lae.
The Footsoldiers recorded that Cotton was “constantly striding around the battle areas, apparently oblivious of fire.” It was during these two days – September 14 and 15, 1943 – that Lt. Col. Cotton earned the undying respect of his men. He was under orders to “bash on” to Lae as quickly as possible. They arrived there by mid-afternoon on the September 16 to find Lae almost deserted. He was Mentioned In Despatches “for gallant and distinguished service” in the Lae campaign and for service in the South West Pacific Area from April 1 to September 13, 1943. The formal letter accompanying the certificate praised him “for bravery in the field”.
With little rest, the Battalion then began the Ramu Valley offensive, reinforced by the return of a substitute D Company. Again, the Battalion encountered strong Japanese resistance in high defensive positions. Tom’s use of artillery and air support was crucial in capturing these positions. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership during the Ramu Valley offensive. The citation reads: “Lt. Col.. COTTON commanded the 2/33 Aust. Inf. Bn. during operations against the
Japanese forces in the Ramu Valley between Sept.
and Dec. 1943. The energy and judgment which this officer displayed in the employment of his Battalion was largely responsible for the successful part played by the unit throughout the campaign.
His solid leadership, his coolness under fire, and the constant personal reconnaissance he made, served as an inspiration to his men, operating as they did, under adverse weather conditions and over extremely difficult country. The splendid example he set, and the vigour and ability which he applied to the tasks allotted to him, contributed greatly to the success of the operations in the Ramu Valley.”
The 2/33 was withdrawn to Australia in January, 1944, to prepare for an amphibious assault. After leave, the battalion formed again in Queensland in April and began training in earnest with new weaponry and equipment. Tom led the Battalion in a parade through Brisbane; he had time to promote Battalion sport and other recreational activities, and to cement his long-distance relationship with Pam by announcing their engagement. Training continued until May, 1945. Because of the long delay of more than a year between the Lae campaign and the last campaign of the war, the recapture of Balikpapan, it was difficult keeping everyone motivated for so long. Several members of the Battalion applied for, and were granted, discharges.
The long-awaited order to mobilise for an amphibious attack on Balikpapan came at the end of May, 1945. It was a massive operation involving more than 100 ships and 20,000 men. The landing craft with the 2/33rd arrived off Balikpapan on July 1 and watched the awe-inspiring air and naval bombardment of enemy positions.
The Battalion landed the next day and began advancing along the road to Samarinda, clearing enemy positions after calling in mortar, naval artillery and air support. On July 6, during an attack on entrenched enemy positions, Tom Cotton was on a hill about 1,000 yards away trying to direct 20 Mitchell bombers to attack the enemy, when an artillery shell exploded in his slit trench, killing four, wounding him on the head and wounding three others. He was knocked unconscious. His head was quickly bandaged. When he recovered consciousness soon afterwards he refused further attention for his head wound saying: “Christ man, can’t you see I’m trying to light a cigarette.”
Tom was evacuated to the 2/2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station and treated for shock and a shrapnel wound above his right eye. A metal plate was inserted into his head. It occasionally caused him pain throughout the rest of his life. Tom Cotton returned to the Battalion on the July 15, as the Battalion continued the advance along the Samarinda road until July 24 when they were relieved. He formally announced the Japanese surrender to the 2/33 troops on August 16 and was present aboard H.M.A.S. Burdekin in Balikpapan Bay on September 8, when the senior Japanese officer in Dutch Borneo formally surrendered to Major General Milford, G.O.C. 7th Division.
The Battalion stayed on in Borneo, building a compound to hold and guard 6,000 plus Japanese P.O.W.s and helping to reinstate civilian rule. Tom flew south to Bandjermasin to accept the Japanese surrender there, and then by Catalina to Pontianak on the west coast of Borneo to investigate fears that the local and Chinese people would take reprisals against the Japanese who had brutally slayed and tortured many civilians. Tom was also involved in tense negotiations with Indonesian independence groups who thought Borneo should be handed over to them rather than the pre-war rulers, the Dutch. He had to take a firm hand in the days leading up to the ceremonial handover to Dutch officials at Pontianak. He was recommended for a Dutch award for his tolerance and fair and firm handling of the handover.
On December 3, Tom Cotton took administrative command of the 25th Brigade. The last remaining 102 members of 2/33 Battalion left Balikpapan by ship on February 10, 1946. Tom watched them leave. He said later: “After the ship had gone I felt like a lost dog”. He later wrote: “The Battalion was my whole life, wife, mistress and task master, and took the whole of my energies.”
Tom stayed on in Balikpapan as part of HQ 7th Division until May, 1946, when he was moved out to HQ Southern Command for re-posting. In March 1947, Tom was again Mentioned in Despatches in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the South West Pacific.
After six years of war he found it difficult to adjust to civilian life, as did so many other soldiers. Pam flew to Sydney where she and Tom were married on August 23, 1946. He was eventually discharged from the Army in April 1947. Tom and Pam didn’t have children. They bought a dairy farm at Stanhope in the Goulburn Valley and tried to revive the country life Tom had known in England and W.A., but illness forced them to give up the farm. They moved to Melbourne in 1949, where Tom had been offered and accepted a position with the newly established Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (A.S.I.O.), a job with potential to keep Tom intellectually challenged.
Tom was initially appointed as liaison officer with the Long Range Weapons Establishment (L.R.W.E.) near Adelaide – a joint Australian-British project which managed the Woomera Rocket Range.
This would have required careful diplomacy and restraint on Tom’s part not to be seen as checking on the already strong security capability within the L.R.W.E. Fortunately, A.S.I.O. reorganised during 1950 under Sir Charles Spry and Tom was appointed Regional Director Western Australia based in Perth. He had a small team involved in counter-subversion, counter-espionage and protective security activities. Australia and its allies were concerned about the spread of communism in the 1950s and 1960s and it was A.S.I.O.’s role to identify potential threats in Australia and advise the Federal Government of them.
Perth was a quiet backwater for A.S.I.O. but there were two major events in Western Australia during Tom’s tenure as Regional Director. The first was the British nuclear test at the Monte Bello Islands off the north-west coast of W.A. in 1952, codenamed Operation Hurricane, and the second was the 1954 Royal Tour. Both required A.S.I.O. to monitor potential risks and threats to information and persons respectively. Both events passed relatively smoothly from a security perspective. In early 1959, Tom was appointed Regional Director, Victoria. He and Pam returned to Melbourne. A.S.I.O.’s concerns in Victoria were potential threats from the Communist Party of Australia, the more radical elements of the anti-Vietnam War movement and violent extremist organisations.
His office recruited, developed and ran several hundred agents to monitor the activities of these groups and advise Governments and police of any significant threats. The office collected thousands of photographs and documents from its agents. Analysing, filtering and filing all this information was a major challenge.
Tom retired from A.S.I.O. in November 1967, aged 60. He continued playing golf and fly-fishing, and took up photography as a hobby, but he had little to occupy his mind except when contributing material for The Footsoldiers.
Tom passed away, aged 62. of bronchopneumonia on September 26, 1970, at his home in South Yarra, Victoria and was cremated. His service medals and decorations were bequeathed to the Naval and Military Club, Melbourne, where he was a member. Pam Cotton survived Tom and died of cancer complications in 1981, aged 76.