Sidney Cotton

Frederick Sidney Cotton (17 June 1894 – 13 February 1969) was an Australian inventor, photographer and aviation and photography pioneer, responsible for developing and promoting an early colour film process, and largely responsible for the development of photographic reconnaissance before and during World War II. He numbered among his close friends George Eastman, Ian Fleming and Winston Churchill.

Early years Frederick Sidney Cotton was born on 17 June 1894 on a cattle station at Goorganga, near Proserpine, Queensland. He was the third child of Alfred and Annie Cotton, who were involved in pastoralism. Cotton was educated at The Southport School in Queensland. In 1910, he and his family went to England, where he attended Cheltenham College; however the family returned to Australia in 1912. Cotton worked as a jackeroo, training to work with livestock at stations in New South Wales up until the outbreak of war.

First World War On 4 August 1914, Britain declared war on Germany because of the German violation of Belgian neutrality, which the United Kingdom had guaranteed in 1839. Australia, as part of the British Empire, was automatically also at war. Cotton had wanted to join the Australian Imperial Force, which had been raised to assist with the war effort, but Cotton's father forbade this. In April 1915, Cotton read a newspaper account of the sinking of the British ocean liner Lusitania by a U-boat; this so incensed him that he decided to enlist despite his parents' objections. Cotton booked a passage to England on board the ocean liner Maloja, the majority of whose passengers were young Australians like himself determined to "do their bit" for king and country.

Cotton went to England to join the Royal Naval Air Service in November 1915. After only five hours solo flying he qualified as a combat pilot, and initially flew Channel patrols. Cotton went on to participate in night bombing sorties over France and Germany with Nos 3 and 5 Wings. Cotton was first based with Number 5 wing in Coudekerque where he undertook bombing raids over the German lines. |group=N This flying suit was widely used by the Royal Air Force until the 1950s. Cotton continued with No. 8 Squadron RNAS in 1917 where he was promoted to Flight Sub-Lieutenant in June 1917. In July 1917, he flew a Handley Page bomber on a raid on Constantinople. On 16 October 1917, he married a 17-year old actress, Regmor Agnes Joan Morvaren Maclean, in London. With his experience and knowledge gained over Germany and other overflights, Cotton greatly improved the RAF's photo reconnaissance capabilities. The PDU was originally equipped with Bristol Blenheims, but Cotton considered these quite unsuitable, being far too slow, and he consequently wheedled a couple of Supermarine Spitfires. These Spitfires, later augmented by de Havilland Mosquitos, were steadily adapted to fly higher and faster, with a highly polished surface, a special blue – 'PRU Blue' – camouflage scheme developed by Cotton himself, and a series of modifications to the engines to produce more power at high altitudes. In 1940, Cotton also personally made another important reconnaissance flight with his Lockheed 12A over Soviet Azerbaijan via Iraq as part of the preparations for Operation Pike.

Under his leadership, the 1 PDU acquired the nicknames, "Cotton's Club" or the less flattering "Cotton's Crooks" (mainly due to Cotton's propensity to flout regulations). Cotton revelled in his reputation as unorthodox, and even had a special badge struck bearing the initials CC-11 that signified the 11th commandment – "Thou shalt not be found out." At the request of Naval Intelligence, Cotton photographed the German fleet at anchor at its base in Wilhelmshaven, which led him to meet Ian Fleming.

Cotton's aerial photographs were far ahead of their time. Together with other members of the 1 PDU, he pioneered the techniques of high-altitude, high-speed stereoscopic photography that were instrumental in revealing the locations of many crucial military and intelligence targets. R.V. Jones recounts in his memoirs how these photographs were used to establish the size and the characteristic launching mechanisms for both the V-1 flying bomb and the V-2 rocket. In December 1943, using the photographs, Constance Babington Smith was the first person to identify a V-1 in an image of a test station in Peenemunde, Germany. Cotton also worked on ideas such as a prototype specialist reconnaissance aircraft and further refinements of photographic equipment.

By mid-1940 however, Cotton had clashed with senior officials in the Air Ministry over his participation in the evacuation of British agents from France under the cover name of Special Survey Flights. With the Fall of France, Cotton returned from France, couriering for a fee Marcel Boussac, the head of the Christian Dior garment and perfume empire. He was removed from his post and banned from any involvement with air operations. For the remainder of the war, Cotton acted as an unofficial consultant to the Admiralty. Under the new designation, 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (PRU), based at RAF Benson, 1 PRU went on to a distinguished wartime record, eventually operating five squadrons out of a number of bases. Succeeding commanding officers would emulate the spirit and innovative techniques pioneered by Cotton.

In September 1940, Cotton's modified Lockheed 12A (G-AFTL), was severely damaged in an air raid at Heston Aerodrome. It was rebuilt by Lockheed, sold in British Honduras, and in 1948 registered in the US as N12EJ; the aircraft resided in Florida in 1992. His postwar Lockheed 12A (G-AGTL) also survives in France in 2005.

In September 1940, Cotton pursued the idea of an airborne searchlight for night-fighters, that he termed 'Aerial Target Illumination' (ATI). He enlisted the help of William Helmore, and they jointly took out patents on the techniques (GB574970 and GB575093). Helmore, a serving RAF officer, then sponsored the development of what became known as Turbinlite.

Post-World War II Like many such larger-than-life wartime figures, Cotton did not thrive in post-war civilian life. He was reluctant to profit from his wartime innovations and even waived his patent rights on the Sidcot suit. While he was sometimes very rich in later life, Cotton was also dogged by bad luck in private business.

Around the time of the Partition of India in 1947, Cotton was hired by the independent princely state of Hyderabad to assist it in resisting integration into the Dominion of India. At the request of Prince Mohammed Bakhtawar Khan and his son Prince Mumtaz Ali Khan – representatives of Osman Ali Khan (Nizam of Hyderabad) – Cotton transported gold reserves for the Dominion of Pakistan, which was an ally of the Nizam. During the first India-Pakistan War, Cotton undertook airlifts of weapons, supplies and medicines from Hyderabad to Pakistan, using unarmed Avro Lancastrian transport aircraft. Hyderabadi forces were defeated in September 1948 and the Nizam surrendered. Cotton later faced charges of gun running under the UK Air Navigation Act, was convicted and fined £200.

Thelma 'Bunty' Brooke-Smith, a former secretary, married Cotton in 1951, becoming his third wife. With Bunty, Cotton was to have another son and daughter. A subsequent issue reported: "MR. F. SIDNEY COTTON has goodhumouredly characterised as 'greatly exaggerated' the report of his death, quoted in our issue of 9 September from Australian sources. Apparently there was confusion with the name of a relative viz. Frank Cotton who was concerned with the design of aircrew pressure suits. Mr. Sidney Cotton, whose name is associated with the Sidcot flying suit, is in this country, and very much alive." Cotton later worked in oil exploration and civil engineering.

During the late 1960s, he collaborated with a biographer, Ralph Barker, on a book entitled Aviator Extraordinary: the Sidney Cotton story. Cotton served at least partly as the basis for the James Bond character created by his friend Ian Fleming, most notably in his womanising and a general disdain for authority. In his obituary in 1969, The Times of London declared that Cotton had established "a record of ruggedly individualistic, superbly unconventional behavior, second only to his reputation for courage and resourcefulness". In 1993, the Australian historian John McCarthy wrote: "Cotton had been an unconventional individualist who was often right when well-placed opponents were wrong. Somewhat arrogant and conceited, he made powerful enemies easily, which cost him recognition and financial rewards. Yet, he was a man of considerable courage and energy, with a sharp mind and a flair for improvisation. In another age he would have made a splendid buccaneer."