George William's Story.
George William Cotterill was born in Riverslea, New Zealand on 26th April 1916 to parents George and Hilda Cotterill. He was educated at Christ’s College in Christchurch following which he worked at J. J. Niven engineering company in Napier. In 1937 he qualified as a pilot at Hawkes Bay and East Coast Aero Club. In 1938 he went to England where he attended flying school at Hamble then became a pilot for Portsmouth Southampton Isle of Wight Flying Company. When war broke out he joined the RAF and initially was based in the Gold Coast where he flew aircraft delivered by ship from USA to the RAF in Egypt. In 1943 he returned to the United Kingdom and joined 540 Squadron in Coastal Command. 540 Squadron was a photographic reconnaissance unit flying mosquito aircraft and over the next 2 years he flew numerous photographic reconnaissance missions over heavily defended targets including Leipzig, Danzig, Berlin, Bergen and over France and Czechoslovakia. In August 1945 he was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross for his service. On 8th November 1945 he was killed when the Mosquito PR Mk34 aircraft serial Number RG269 he was flying in lost an engine during takeoff from RAF Hawarden in North Wales. Following loss of the engine it appeared that George mistakenly raised the flaps as he was trying to land at the airfield and lost control and crashed with the aircraft immediately catching fire and burning after the crash. He was buried at Blacon Cemetery near Chester. He was 29 years old.
540 Squadron Group photo August 1944
Mosquito PR MkIX as flown by George at 540 Squadron
Typical Photo Reconnaissance Mission Report signed by George. This mission was to photograph railway lines in France on 5th April 1944
Mosquito PR Mk34 as flown by George when he had his fatal accident
Hawkes Bay Herald Tribune August 1945
Research by Steve Merrill