William Cotter – Royal Naval Reserve, H.M. Trawler Gambri

Engineman William Cotter – Royal Naval Reserve, H.M. Trawler Gambri

William Cotter was born in 1889 in Swansea, the son of Matthew Cotter and Margaret Davies.

Family Background and Early Life

1901 Census

William is recorded in the 1901 Census, when the Cotter family were residing at 113 Llangyfelach Street, Swansea. His father, Matthew Cotter (52), who was Irish-born, was employed as a dock labourer, while his wife Margaret (43) managed the household. Their children were Catherine (23), John W. (16), William T. (12), James T. (10), Matthew R. (4), and Francis J. (1).

Naval Service

William later entered wartime service with the Royal Naval Reserve, serving as an Engineman aboard H.M. Trawler Gambri. In this role, he was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the vessel’s engines—an essential and hazardous duty aboard small auxiliary patrol vessels tasked with minesweeping and coastal defence in heavily mined waters.

H.M. Trawler Gambri was built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell, Ltd., Beverley, in 1916. Operated by the Royal Navy at the time of her loss, she was a British naval trawler of 274 tons, one of many civilian-built vessels requisitioned for naval service during the war.

Loss and Commemoration

On 18^th January 1918, Gambri was sunk by a mine laid by the German submarine UC-71, commanded by Ernst Steindorff, approximately three-quarters of a mile off the Royal Sovereign lightvessel. The explosion resulted in the loss of 21 lives, including that of Engineman William Cotter.

William Cotter
Plymouth Naval Memorial, Plymouth
credit - findagrave

As with many sailors lost in naval operations at sea, William has no known grave. His sacrifice is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, which honours members of the Royal Navy and Royal Naval Reserve who died during the First World War and whose bodies were never recovered.