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Remembered Today:

Coote brothers of Mountrath


Airshipped

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Hi,

 

I thought I'd try the Irish page rather than the flying services one, as the two chaps in question had extensive service on land relative to that in the air.

 

Ralph Algernon Coote (b.22.09.1874) had served in South Africa. His wartime service in World War I with the Royal Naval Air Service would appear to be mainly confined to a depot role in Dunkirk as an armaments officer.

 

Maxwell Henry Coote (b.01.06.1895) of the Royal Field Artillery served initially with No. 27 Squadron, flying the Martinsyde 'Elephant'. He was wounded in 'Bloody April' but returned to the fray with the elite No. 56 Squadron. Flying the S.E.5A with people like McCudden, Rhys-Davids and 'Seanachaí' Cronyn he amassed four kills.

https://www.casualtyforms.org/form/4073

 

However, it'd appear that Coote regarded McCudden as too common to command gentlemen officers. (Indeed it's quite possible that unattributed quotes from Coote could be the basis for post-war tales of the command of Billy Bishop's No. 85 Squadron not being given to McCudden on the basis of McCudden's Irish Catholic working-class English background being unacceptable to certain sensibilities). 

 

The history of their Ballyfin estate is reasonably well-covered. However, from what I can ascertain, the younger of these two Cootes served at the Cairo Conference in 1921.

 

https://books.google.ie/books?id=W9-zDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA118&dq=coote+cairo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjlgZ60_P7wAhXMOcAKHXTBDdsQ6AEwCXoECAoQAg#v=onepage&q=coote cairo&f=false 

 

I'd therefore be interested to hear if anyone had encountered any unpublished memoirs or articles concerning the Coote brothers, as there'd appear to have been an unpublished diary available to Churchill biographers and so more than likely a trail of papers elsewhere. 

 

They were not popular locally in Mountrath, though the official records of petty sessions etc would only appear to show minor disputes re estover etc rather than wholescale evictions. 

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On 04/06/2021 at 23:06, Airshipped said:

the younger of these two Cootes served at the Cairo Conference in 1921.

 

I'd therefore be interested to hear if anyone had encountered any unpublished memoirs or articles concerning the Coote brothers, as there'd appear to have been an unpublished diary available to Churchill biographers and so more than likely a trail of papers elsewhere. 

 

Maxwell Henry Coote:

Copy of diary covering his service as ADC to Winston Churchill at the Cairo Peace Conference and including details of meetings with Col Thomas Edward Lawrence (later known as Thomas Edward Shaw), Mar 1921; photocopy of photograph of Coote, 1917; brief account of his life and career, 1893-1946, written by his godson, Air Cdre B H Newton in 1981.

https://kingscollections.org/catalogues/lhcma/collection/c/co55-001

 

JP

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2 hours ago, helpjpl said:

 

Maxwell Henry Coote:

Copy of diary covering his service as ADC to Winston Churchill at the Cairo Peace Conference and including details of meetings with Col Thomas Edward Lawrence (later known as Thomas Edward Shaw), Mar 1921; photocopy of photograph of Coote, 1917; brief account of his life and career, 1893-1946, written by his godson, Air Cdre B H Newton in 1981.

https://kingscollections.org/catalogues/lhcma/collection/c/co55-001

 

JP

Thanks JP,

That clears things up a little, i.e. it'd therefore appear that there's a single diary, covering 1921 but that there's also material compiled by Air Commodore Newton in later years. It's therefore possible that random quotes appearing in various secondary publications are Newton's hearsay when quoting Coote.

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