Cockin, Maurice Herbert Battle, 1915-1944

Person

Cockin, Maurice Herbert Battle, 1915-1944

1915-1944

Cockin, Maurice Herbert Battle, son of Maurice Stanley Cockin, journalist, of Mortlake, Surrey, and Alys Grace. d. of Philip Gear of Bristol; b. 17 Nov. 1915; adm. Sept. 1929 (B), (A) Sept. 1930; left July 1933; Queens' Coll. Camb., matric. 1934, BA 1937, MA 1941; N. Borneo Admin. Serv­ice; bar student (Middle Temple) 1941; HQ. Intelligence Section 1st Canadian Divn (Capt.); despatches (posth.) Sicily May 1944; killed in action 1944.

Maurice Herbert Battle “Bat” Cockin was born at Mortlake, Surrey on the 17th of November 1915 the only son of Captain Maurice Stanley Cockin, a journalist, and Alice Grace (nee Gear) Cockin of Leyden House, Mortlake. He was christened at St Mary’s Church, Mortlake on the 16th of March 1916. He was educated at Westminster School where he was up Busby’s from September 1929 and up Ashburnham from September 1930 to July 1933. He was a member of the Officers Training Corps where he achieved Certificate A. He went on to the University of Paris to study Arts from 1933 to 1934 and matriculated for Queens’ College, Cambridge in 1934 where he achieved a BA in 1937 and a MA in 1941. On leaving university he accepted a post with the North Borneo Administration Service where he was Private Secretary and Aide de Camp to the Governor of British North Borneo for nine months and was also appointed as a Magistrate. He returned to England where he studied law at the Middle Temple for two years but he enlisted in the army before he complete the course. He was fluent in German, French and Malay. He later moved to Ottawa, Canada where he worked as a civil servant for the British Government for the British Supply Board. He lived at Chateau Laurier, Ottawa.
He attended a medical examination on the 25th of May 1940 where it was recorded that he was six feet tall and that he weighed 158lbs. It was also noted that he had a dark complexion, brown eyes and brown hair. He attested for military service on the 27th of May 1940 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards on the 16th of April 1940. He was attached to the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, was promoted to Lieutenant on the 3rd of June 1940 and joined their Depot at Picton on the same day. He left the Depot on the 3rd of February 1941 for overseas service and embarked at Halifax the following day. He disembarked at Gourock, Scotland on the 1st of March 1941. He was promoted to Captain on the 14th of November 1942 and was appointed as an Intelligence Officer 2nd Class on the 5th of February 1943. He was attached to the Intelligence Section of the 1st Canadian Division Headquarters in Italy.
On the morning of the 20th of July 1943, Maurice Cockin and Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Albert Sutcliffe went out together for a reconnaissance of the enemy front lines near Monte Assoro. As the two men crouched in the open they were spotted by the crew of a German 88mm gun which was positioned on the high ground to their front. It fired at them over open sights, killing Bruce Sutcliffe instantly and seriously wounding Maurice Cocklin.
A fellow officer saw him when he was brought back to the Canadian lines and recalled: - “Bat Cockin was still alive when they brought him back. He was in great agony, and he had apparently been asking to see me, as he had something to tell me. He and Bruce Sutcliffe had been staring up at the great peak of Assoro, and the zig-zag road that ran up to the village of that name. Although he was pretty far gone, his speech suddenly came back to him with most remarkable clarity, and he grabbed my wrist and said, "John, for God's sake don't go up that road." I don't think he spoke again.”
He was collected by the 4th Canadian Divisional Field Ambulance which took him to No. 1 Field Dressing Station where he was treated for wounds to the lumbar region of his back and to his left arm. He was also suffering from shock. He died from his wounds at 11.15am the following day.
He was Mentioned in Despatches for “Distinguished and gallant services”, which was announced in the London Gazette of the 25th of March 1944.
He is commemorated on the war memorial at Queens’ College, Cambridge and on the memorial at the Middle Temple
He is buried at Agira Canadian War Cemetery Plot C, Row G Grave 348.

Battle Captain; Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment attached to the Royal Canadian Intelligence Corps

GB 2014

International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition

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Prepared for import into AtoM by Westminster School Archive staff, 2019-2020. Updated by Bethany Duck, Archives Assistant, September 2022.

The Record of Old Westminsters: A biographical list of all those who are known to have been educated at Westminster School from Play 1919 to Election 1989, Volume 4, compiled by F.E. Pagan and H.E. Pagan, Padstow, 1992.

Westminster School Second World War Memorial by John C. Hamblin, 2022.