R.I.P Too young

Some famous, and not to famous cricketers , have died too young
Some have passed away during a career, others near the prime of their lives, others before their time
They say life begins at 40 , for some cricketers, life ended before 40

Archie Jackson
Perhaps the most tragic career ending of all Test cricketers
Test career
8 matches
474 runs
45.65 average

Born 1909 in Scotland
Deceased 16/2/1933 in Brisbane
Aged 23

Clem Hill once said Jackson was the biggest find since Ponsford

This is what Don Bradman had to say about Archie Jackson, several decades after AJs death
*On Australian wickets , Archie Jackson gave every indication of being the greatest ever, but sadly he died before his promise could be fulfilled and that was a tragedy.*

That is a great endorsement made by the greatest batsman of them all

The irony of it all is the date of death 16/2/1933
On that day Archie passed away in Brisbane
On the same day at the Gabba, England won the Ashes in that dreaded Bodyline series

Scrappy wrote:Some famous, and not to famous cricketers , have died too young
Some have passed away during a career, others near the prime of their lives, others before their time
They say life begins at 40 , for some cricketers, life ended before 40

Archie Jackson
Perhaps the most tragic career ending of all Test cricketers
Test career
8 matches
474 runs
45.65 average

Born 1909 in Scotland
Deceased 16/2/1933 in Brisbane
Aged 23

Clem Hill once said Jackson was the biggest find since Ponsford

This is what Don Bradman had to say about Archie Jackson, several decades after AJs death
*On Australian wickets , Archie Jackson gave every indication of being the greatest ever, but sadly he died before his promise could be fulfilled and that was a tragedy.*

That is a great endorsement made by the greatest batsman of them all

The irony of it all is the date of death 16/2/1933
On that day Archie passed away in Brisbane
On the same day at the Gabba, England won the Ashes in that dreaded Bodyline series

Archie Jackson made 164 on debut at Adelaide Oval in 1928-29 whilst still a teenager. It must have been one of the great test matches. England won by 12 runs. Jackson's 164 was scored opening the batting against two all time greats Harold Larwood and Maurice Tate. In the second innings chasing 349 to win Australia seemed headed for victory at 7 for 320 when young Don Bradman was run out and Australia just couldn't get to the total. Wicketkeeper Bert Oldfield received flak for his call that resulted in Bradman's run out.

In the Oval test of 1930 Jackson shared a partnership of 243 with Don Bradman during the fifth test at the Oval. Larwood always said that this match sowed the seeds for Bodyline. There had been overnight rain that 'juiced' up the wicket. Larwood maintained that even though Jackson stood up to the bouncing ball, Bradman flinched. The scorecard suggests otherwise. Jackson made 73 of the parnership, Bradman was dismissed for 232. I think I read that Jackson was already suffering from the early symptoms of TB during that 1930 tour.

The question I raise is just how much difference a fit and healthy Archie Jackson would have made in the Bodyline Series ?

Scrappy wrote:The question I raise is just how much difference a fit and healthy Archie Jackson would have made in the Bodyline Series ?

not much at all Scrappy, Bradman, Woodful & co had trouble so how would one more 'great' batsman make any real difference ?

bayman wrote:

Scrappy wrote:The question I raise is just how much difference a fit and healthy Archie Jackson would have made in the Bodyline Series ?

not much at all Scrappy, Bradman, Woodful & co had trouble so how would one more 'great' batsman make any real difference ?

Vic Richardson was always dirty on himself for getting out for 49 after he and Stan McCabe had put on 129 in the first test in Sydney. McCabe went on to make an heroic 187 and Richardson thought that if he had have stayed with McCabe they would have killed Bodyline stone dead, so who knows what difference another great batsman would have made.

And as an aside Bayman I would never have thought of Woodfull as a great batsman. Great leader maybe but a very good not great batsman. I would have thought that the great batsmen in that team were Bradman, Ponsford and McCabe

i am not old enough to have seen them play bar for the grainy footage that gets played every now & then, so i'm only going on what i've seen, heard or read

bayman wrote:i am not old enough to have seen them play bar for the grainy footage that gets played every now & then, so i'm only going on what i've seen, heard or read

Neither am I. But I still to this day know people who went to the Bodyline test and I have never heard one of them describe, nor have I ever read Woodfull being described, as a great player. Great man yes, great captain, yes, very good player, yes but not a great. I reiterate the three greats in that team were Bradman, obviously, Ponsford and McCabe.

The only dissenting voice about him being a great captain was from Vic Richardson who once told Ian Chappell if you ever captain Australia, don't captain like a Victorian. Vic never named Woodfull but who would have been the Victorians he played under, Ryder and Woodfull are all that I can think of.

Vic wasn't a big wrap on the Don either.
The ABC interview with Chappelli on the other thread goes into that a bit too.

However, that may not have been against his captaincy per se.

Chambo Off To Work We Go wrote:Vic wasn't a big wrap on the Don either.
The ABC interview with Chappelli on the other thread goes into that a bit too.

However, that may not have been against his captaincy per se.

i got the impression listening to the interview that both Vic & Ian thought while Bradman was a great batsman/cricketer his personality wasn't that great, Bradman was an aloof & at times grumpy type of person on the golf course from what people have told me that have played golf in groups in front of him

Oneill 'Collie'Smith
West Indies all rounder

Test batting
1331 runs
31.69 ave
4 x centuries

Test Bowling
48 wickets
33.85 ave

Born 5/5/1933 Jamaica
Died 9/11/1959 England
Aged 26

Collie Smith , right hand batsman, and off spinner , died tragically in car accidnet

This is what Sir Garfield Sobers has to say about the late Collie Smith

* Earlier in my career I did not drink a lot.
But then occured an event in my life that changed that and for a time forced me to seek comfort from drink, the death of my great friend Collie Smith in a car crash in 1959
Collie shared a room with me in England and also in Pakistan
On the night of 6 September I picked him and Tom Dewdney up to travel through the night to a charity match the next day in London
We left it late because of the heavy traffic
Tom was a big Jamaican medium fast bowler who played 9 tests between 1955-1958

I do not remember much about the accident
But at the inquest on Collie a few weeks later it was said that I was driving on the A34 near Stone in Staffordshire when my vehicle ran into a ten ton cattle truck driven by a Andrew Saunders, the time of the collision 4:45am

I remember being blinded by headlights as I approached a bend and was sure my car was on the right side of the road
The impact left us stunned, but none of us lost consciousness
Collie did not appear to be in bad shape
"Dont worry about me, look after the big fellow" he said, referring to Tom Dewdney
We were taken to hospital in Stone
I had a cut eye and a severed nerve in the finger on my left hand which took some time to mend
I was also suffering from shock
When I asked about Collie the kind nurses and doctors said
" Dont worry hes coming along fine"
I learnt that his spinal cord was damaged
Tom was recovering

Three days later Collie died
I was stunned
He was such a wonderful person, such a good friend
he had the ability to become a better allrounder than me
His off spinning was Test class

Later I was charged with driving without due care and attention and was fined 10 pound
it was the saddest episode in my life and has been on my conscience ever since *

Wow, fancy Gary Sobers having to live with that
Sobers was 23 years old at the time
Tom Dewdney was 26 years old , on that night he would never forget either
Tom never played Test Cricket after the accident
Tom toured Australia in 1960-1961 and played a few games against the states

It has also been documented that Gary had this tribute to pay to the man known as the Mighty Mouse
" In all my innings and especially in Jamaica where they so loved Collie , I played with him inside me. Trying perhaps to give him the innings that death had denied him. We had some wonderful innings together. They were beginning to call me a great allrounder. Collie was a greater allrounder than I."

Collie Smith

Jamaica v Australia
Tour match
March 1955

This was Collie Smiths 3rd game of First Class cricket
In his previous 2 games in domestic cricket his record was

27
1/14
0
1/49

2/19
32
4/84
58 not out

Then in his 3rd game of First Class Cricket against the Aussies

AU 453
Morris 157
Collie Smith 4/103

JAMAICA 474
Collie Smith 169
Johnson 3/97

AU 319
Maddocks 83
Worrell 5/87
Collie Smith 0/25

JAMAICA 0/28

What a stunning debut
Jamaica were 4/69 when Collie came in to bat , and that became worse at 5/81
Collie and wicket keeper Alf Binns put on 277 runs to 6/358
Binns made 151

This might have been a 'mighty' effort by Smith and Binns
Look at the Australian attack , quite possibly the best Australia touring attack of all time

Lindwall
Miller
Johnson
Davidson
Benaud

Most probably Binns had not faced a Rubbish attack that game

As for Collie Smith , he must have impressed the West Indies selectors
7 days later after 3 First Class games, he was selected to play against Australia in the First Test of 1954/1955

Collie Smith

West Indies v Australia
First Test
March 1955
Sabina Park, Kingston

AU 9/515 DEC
Harvey 133
Miller 147
Walcott 3/50
Collie Smith 0/27[11]

WI 259
Collie Smith 44
Walcott 108
Lindwall 4/61

WI 275
Collie Smith 104
Miller 3/62

AU 0/20

This was the debut Test match of Collie Smith
He batted at 7 in the first dig
Came in at 5/101 and put on 138 runs with that magnificent cricketer Clyde Walcott
Collie made 44 in 153 minutes

West Indies followed on in the 2nd dig
Collie was promoted to bat at 3 and came in at 1/20
Collie made a century in a debut test match making 104 in 220 minutes
The attack of Lindwall, Archer, Johnson, Benuad, Miller was a very talented attack

At this stage , Collie would have been considered a most exciting cricketer of the times

Jamaican team mate , wicket keeper , Alf Binns played in this Test
Alf had made 151 against the Aussies the week before in a Tour Match
Binns made a pair , I would suggest against an attack that was not rubbish

Albert Tibby Cotter

Test bowling
89 wickets
28.64 average
52.05 strike rate

First Class Bowling
442 wickets
24.27 average
44.02 strike rate

Born 03/12/1883 Sydney , Australia
Died 31/10/1917 Beersheba, Palestine
Aged 33

In the early 1900s he was considered the best Australian fast bowler
The 52.05 Test strike rate is excellent
The 44.02 Strike rate in all FC games is outstanding

WWI interrupted Tibbys career , and eventually claimed his life
He joined the Army in 1915
The Australian Light horse Brigade was doing service in Egypt to stop the Turks from controlling the Suez Canal , and if possible drive them out of Palestine
In October 1917, en route to Jerusalem ,the Light Horse mounted a cavalry charge on Beersheba, which they needed for their water
Tibby Cotter was a stretcher bearer
He participated in the charge and was hit my machine gun fire at close range as the Aussies went through the Turks defences
Cotter initially had survived when the Aussies returned back to tend the injured and bury the deceased , but died shortly after

Cotter also had the nickname of Terror, due to his pace generated from a slinging action


I found this match that Tibby played in
It was Tibbys 6th Test Match , he was 24 years old , and prob at his peak
It also was the debut of Charlie Macartney

Australia v England
1st Test , Sydney
December 1907

EG 273
Gunn 119 [on debut]
Cotter 6/101

AU 300
Clem Hill 87
Cotter 2
Fielder 6/82

EG 300
Gunn 74 [he fired in this game]
Cotter 2/1201

AU needed 274 for victory

1/7
2/12
3/27
Already dismissed was perhaps and arguably the greatest Top 3 of all time
Trumper 3
Macartney 9
Hill 1
4/75
5/95
6/124
7/185
Incoming batsman Albert Terror Tibby Cotter , 89 needed to win
As he would have walked out, the batsman last dismissed was passing him
That player was Peter McAlister , famously or infamously remembered for his fight with Clem Hill in 1912 over a disputed selection policy on team managers
6 players were involved in that big six dispute, Tibby Cotter was one of them, they pulled out of the 1912 tour of England

8/219
Tibby Cotter was joined by the debutant Gervys Hazlitt with 55 needed
England in the box seat and heavily favored to win
Hazlitt with an eventual Test average of 11 and Cotter with an eventual 13 had a real daunting task
They put on an unbroken 66 run unison to get the Aussies over the line
Cotter 33 not out [66]
Hazlitt 34 not out [39]
8/275

Albert Cotter , with his fine allround performance , helped win this Test Match
10 years later Albert Cotter lost his life

John James Ferris

Test Matches
61 wickets
12.70 average
37.73 strike rate

Born 12/5/1867 Sydney
Died 17/11/1900 Durban

Australia v England
August 1990
Second Test

AU 92
EG 100
AU 102
EG 8/95

Australia had a well performed opening bowling combination of Charles Terror Turner and Jack Ferris
Terror took 2/37 + 3/38
Ferris took 4/25 + 5/49
The Aussies lost a close game, but it would seem it was not because of Jack Ferris


South Africa V England
March 1892
First and Only Test
Newlands Oval

SA 97
EG 369
SA 83

England won this Test easily
Thanks to a guy that took 6/54 + 7/37
That guy was Jack Ferris !

The irony of it all was Jack Ferris played his last 2 Test matches for 2 different countries, Australia and England

Jack only played 9 Test matches between 1886 -1892 bowling what is described as Slow Left Arm mediums

Jack Ferris came back to Australia and played some SS cricket
The journeyman ended up playing 1 game for South Australia in 1896
VI 165
SA199
VI 43
SA 0/10

Ferris took 0/3 and did not bowl in the 2nd innings
Ernie Jonah Jones , George Giffen and Alf Jarvis did all the damage
Ferris opened the batting and was out for 0
He never played for SA again , but did play for NSW later in his career in 1897-1898

It appears that Jack made his way back to England in the very late late 1890s ???
In 1900 he enlisted in the British Army to serve in the 2nd Boer War
Jack Ferris died of Typhoid and passed away in Durban , South Africa
He died in the country where this Australian played his last Test Match playing for England

Jack made many turns as a journeyman
Who knows how life might have gone for him had he taken a different path in his life
Jack Ferris died too young

Norman Gordon
The South African fast bowler
Born 6/8/1911
Is still alive
Currently 101 years old

James Hutchinson
Derbyshire all rounder
Born 29/11/1896
Died 7/11/2000

Hutchinson made 3 centuries !!!!!
And also made 5 centuries with the bat
Died 22 days short of his 104th birthday
James Hutchinson, might be the worlds oldest lived cricketer that played 1st class cricket
Johns last game of his career was Derby v Hampshire
He was caught at the crease for 0 , after perhaps , losing his bearings
Hutchinson C Creese B Baring 0 ...

Ted Martin
Leg Break Bowler
Born 30/9/1902 Victoria
Died 9/6/2004 Western Australia
Lived to 101
Ted Martin might be the oldest Australian lived cricketer that played first class cricket
He played 2 games of FC cricket against Jardines bodyline mob at the start of the MCC tour of 1932
Ted took 3/115 + 3/50 on debut, against a powerful English batting line up
His first wicket was that of Herbert Sutcliffe , one of Englands greatest ever batsmen
One of Teds team mates that debut match was John invers Inveraritys dad Merv
Teds only other FC game was for an Australian eleven v Jardines mob
What a thrill it might have been for Ted, he played alongside Sir Donald Bradman in his 2nd and last FC match

These cricketers are not in keeping with the thread heading
But it does emphasize how long an innings cricketers are capable of

The question is :
Can Norman Gordon beat James Huchinson's innings ?
He needs to BATtle it out till about July 2015

Victoria v South Australia
MCG
January 1936

Started on New Years Day of the 100th South Australian anniversary Proclamation year of 1936

SA 569
357 Sir Donald George Bradman
Welch 5/155

VI 313
80 R Gregory [his first half century of the 'calender' year]
4/77 Tim Wall [This bowler is acknowledged by my Grade 6 teacher as being the best SA fast bowler he had seen]

VI 5/250
124 Rigg
3/42 Oconnell
0/0 Bradman [maiden over]

SA 3 points
VI 1 point
Those points are not fielding positions, they are match points !
Looks like 2 for a First Innings win, and 1 point each for the draw ?

The Don
357 runs
421 balls faced
40 fours
He ran a few runs this innings

Arthur Richter
This was Richters debut match
Right hand batsman
Right arm leg spin and googly bowler
Was 27 years old on debut
This was the only match Richter played in the Sheffield Shield

Richter came in at 4/276
What a thrill for him, the batsman at the other end was The Don
They put on a 47 run partnership
Richter made 7 on debut
He bowled as well
0/15 [3]
0/58 [13]

8 Months later Arthur Richter died
1/9/1908 Born Telowie South Australia
16/8/1936 Died Adelaide South Australia

He played the match against Victoria knowing at the time he was going to die soon after , he had a kidney ailment
He was awarded a badge for being part of the 1936 Sheffield Shield winning team
His kidney problem led to his death a few months after the cricket season concluded , I cant imagine the emotion of it all for Arthur and his SA team mates


I found a game Richter played in
South Australia Colts v Victoria Colts
Adelaide Oval
January 1931

This game also started on New Years Day

VI 391
137 Fontaine 137
5/130 Richter

SA 180
54 not out Teagle
Dawson 4/34
Richter 20

SA 5/250
61 Starr
Richter did not bat
Healy 2/18

Obviously had talent as a Colt
Arthur Richter is the nephew of the great Australian fast bowler , and North Adelaides first Premiership Captain in the SAFL
His uncle was the legendary Ernie Jonah Jones

Scrappy wrote:80 R Gregory [his first half century of the 'calender' year]

Just over a year later "young" Ross Gregory scored another 80 at the MCG, this time for Australia against England in the 5th and decisive test of the 1936-37 Ashes series. Ross Gregory was the only Australian test cricketer killed in the second World War. Poignantly he was dismissed in this, his last test, caught Hedley Verity bowled Kenneth Farnes, who were the only two English test cricketers killed in the second World War.

Ross Gregory only played 2 tests for Australia, yet finished with a test average of 51 without the aid of any not out innings. He had played for Victoria as a 17 year old schoolboy and he turned 21 during his second and final test. I have never understood why he wasn't selected for England in 1938.

He was the last of five Gregorys to play for Australia, but wasn't related to any of the first four

Ross Gregory
Born 28/02/1916 Victoria
Died 10/6/1942 Bengal India
Aged 25

Tests
153 runs
51.00 ave

First Class
1874 runs
38.24 average
50 wickets
35.34 average

Australia V England
4th Test
January 1937
Adelaide Oval

In his debut test Ross Gregory batted in both innings with Sir Donald Bradman

AU 288
Gregory 23
Our Don Bradman 26

EG 330
Gregory 0/14

AU 433
Gregory run out 50
The Don 212

EG 243

Australia won by 148 runs
The Don and Ross Gregory came together at 4/233 in the 2nd innings and took the total to 5/372 in a match winning partnership

Ross Gregory made 26 + 50
Total 76 runs and only hit 2 fours
Perhaps a sedate batsman and not a strong hitter ?

Australia were 0-2 down in the series , and got to 2-2 after this Test
England were trying for 2 consecutive Ashes wins in Australia following the previous series marred by Bodyline

5th Test
Australia v England
February 1937
MCG

This ends up being the last time Ross Gregory played Test cricket

AU 604
The Don 169
Gregory 80
Farnes 6/96
Verity 1/127

EG 239
Hardstaff 83
Verity 0
Farnes 0 not out
OReilly 5/51

EG 165
Hammond 56
Verity 2
Farnes 0

Ken Farnes took a career best of 6/96
Ross Gregory made a career best of 80 runs

Ken Farnes was the last wicket to fall in the match, and Australia won the Ashes series 3-2
Farnes c Nash B Fleetwood Smith [Nash the South Melbourne Footballer]

However the chilling dismissal is the one RIG has mentioned
Gregory C Verity b Farnes
Shockingly all 3 lost their lives in WW2

Hedley Verity
Born 18/5/1905 Headingley England
Died 31/7/1943 Caserta Itlay
Aged 38
Died in a POW camp of war injuries after being wounded in battle
He was wounded in battle in Sicily
He was shot, but continued to yell out to his fellow troopers:
" Keep going keep going"

Verity must have been a very good left hand spinner
Tests
144 wickets
24.37 average
That is outstanding , as he would have bowled a fair bit to Bradman
It has been widely documented how Verity bowled very well to Bradman
Verity took 7/9 in his last First class match Yorkshire v Sussex and said :
" I wonder if I shall ever bowl here again."
He didnt

First Class
1956 wickets
14.90 average
42.22 strike rate
Stats wise that makes Verity one of the all time great spinners

Ken Farnes
Born 8/7/1911 Essex England
Died 20/10/1941 Oxfordshire England
Aged 30
Farnes died when he was a RAF night flier
On his very first unsupervised flight he crash landed and died in the accident

Tests
60 wickets
28.65 average

First Class
690 wickets
21.45 average
Another who might have bowled at Bradman a fair bit
A very good career indeed

Horace 'Jock' Cameron
Born 5/7/1905 Port Elizabeth South Africa
Died 2/11/1935 Johannesburg South Africa
Aged 30

Test career
Wicket keeper batsman
1239 runs
30.21 average

South Africa had beaten England 1-0 in a Test series ending in August 1935
A few months later he contracted Typhoid Fever and died


Yorkshire v South Africa
June 1935
Tour Match
Sheffield

SA 263
Siedle 51
Cameron 45
Fisher 4/52

YO 201
Arthur Mitchell 61 [Died on Christmas day 1976]
Xenophon Balaskas 4/55 [Born in South Africa , so not the first Greek to play Test cricket]

SA 7/301 dec
Cameron 103 not out
Bowes 3/70

YO 235
Balaskas 8/99
Mitchell 41

South Africa won this match by 128 runs

This might be a rarity :
The YO 2nd innings saw Balaskas take 8/99 and Bell 2/64
Is this the first time bowlers with a surnames starting with B have bowled out a First Class team ???????

Jock Cameron also produced a Verity rarity in this match
In his 103 not out he plundered 30 runs off one over from Hedley Verity

Jock captained South Africa on the Australia tour of 1931 -1932
The bad news is South Africa lost 0-5
The good news was the last test match

Australia v South Africa
MCG
February 1932
Time less Test

SA 36
AU 153
SA 45

South Africa made 81 in 2 innings [lucky it was a Timeless test ! ]
But it was historical for Jock Cameron
Cameron made 11 of the 36 runs scored
This was the one and only time he top scored against Australia !
For any Jock Cameron fans, sorry I couldnt resist posting that top score


Jock Cameron was once asked how he learnt to become such a good keeper
Cameron replied :
" When I was quite young, I made a boy throw stones into the bushes while we were out walking , and as the birds flew out I caught them "

In Jocks era of playing he was considered to be the best wicket keeper batsman in the world

He must of been one heck of a bloke, 5,000 people rolled up at his funeral

robranisgod wrote:

Scrappy wrote:80 R Gregory [his first half century of the 'calender' year]

Ross Gregory was the only Australian test cricketer killed in the second World War.

There were a couple of very prominent South Australian players who were killed in the Second World War, Charlie Walker and Ken Ridings. Charlie Walker had been on two Ashes tours in 1930 and 1938, but never played a test. Ken Ridings was Phil Ridings younger brother and was only 23 when he died. He had already played 19 games for SA and scored a couple of centuries.

Horace Malcolm Thompson
Also goes by the name of Malcolm Thompson
Born 29/10/1913 Malvern , South Australia
Died 19/3/1936 Kalgoorlie , Western Australia

Played one game for South Australia , as a medium fast bowler

South Australia V MCC
Adelaide Oval
November 1935

MC 371
SA 322
MC 174
SA 187

Mals performance
0/70
7
1/34
12

Mal was run out in his 2nd and last batting innings for SA
His luck also run out just over 4 months later
Mal was killed as a result of a motor accident whilst in transit from Norseman to Kalgoorlie
The accident occured on the 20th of February , Mal survived for almost a month to March 19th
He has been described as a promising fast bowler from the Sturt Cricket Club

Mal R.I.P far too young at 22 years of age
He is, or would be close to being the youngest cricketer to have died that represented South Australia in cricket

Albert Cotter
Ive already done a post on how he died during WW1


The slinging quick, who has been compared with Thommo, died in battle
Ironically Cotter was a pall bearer at Victor Trumpers funeral [another who died to early]

Cotter was a fast bowler for Waverley, his mate was an opening batsman from Glebe
His mate was Perce Ward
Ward and Cotter joined the Light Horse regiments during WW1
I have edited what Ward has to say about his mate

Cotter and Ward shared a Tent
Cotter often puffing on a pipe with no tobacco, Ward would smoke rollys
Some of the conversations were about cricket
Cotter had this to say though
" Perce if anything should happen to me, will you take my things back to my family."
" Come of it Tibby , Johnny Turk isint clever enough to get you"
" Well if he happens to fluke it, will you see to my things."
" Sure I will , and if anything should go wrong for me, will you do the same?"

Cotter was known as a great forager
One day he returned to camp with a Ling fish, which he remarkably gained from a Turkish Soldier
He spotted a mate called Blue , and said
" Would you like feed of fish Blue?"
" I sure would , but it looks like we are moving out shortly."
'' Where to ?"
" Beersheeba."
" All right then, I'll put it away and we'll have a big feed when we get back " said a grinning Cotter

The Light horse Regiment was out in the field
A lack of water meant that almost certainly the horses would succomb and perish
The situation was dire
In the heat of the moment General Chauvel made the stunning decision to take on the Turks with a cavalry charge by the 4th + 12th Regiment
This met with disapproval from a British officer who considered that 800 horsemen had little chance to succeed
It seemed a preposterous decision
The Australian soldiers summoned up an exhilarated courage

Cotter and his buddy Blue prepared , getting their mounts ready
Cotter received a message to report back to behind the lines for guard duty
Cotter was not needed , as he told the messenger he would return immediately
Instead Cotter gave Blue a wink , mounted his horse and disobeyed the order

CHARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGE

The Turks were over taken by this stunning and controversial tactic
The Aussies got to a closer range than what the Turks could have expected
The Turks opened fire
It was at this point that Albert Tibby Cotter was hit by a machine gun bullet
The Australian fast bowler fell from his horse
Blue saw his fallen mate, but kept riding towards the Turks
The Aussies overwhelmed the Turks, and took them on in one of the most vicious hand to hand combats of the campaign
800 men beat the odds and manufactured one of historys most amazing wins of battle
The Turks surrendered

Blue jumped back on his horse and found Cotter
This is how it went
* Tibby opened his eyes and saw his mate leaning over him and , though in great pain, he managed a trace of the old Cotter grin and said
" You'll have to eat the fish by yourself now, Blue."
Soon after , Albert Cotter died.*
Dead at 33 years of age

This was a gut wrenching account of Blues version of events
It was rivetting reading for me
His grave is in Palestine and can be seen by Australian tourists to this day, not far from where is he was mortally wounded


Blue and Perce Ward who later broke his leg survived the war
Ward kept his word, and returned some of Cotter belongings back to Australian
Included was Cotters Fob Watch, Tobacco Pouch , leftover Tobacco, a well chewed pipe and a small badge


The question has to be asked
That is Albert Tibby Cotter may have survived this war or wars , had he obeyed the order to stay behind the lines for Guard Duty

Footnote
A few days before that Charge, the lads played a cricket match at a base camp
Cotter excelled taking 4 wickets off his long run and making 84 runs