Lewy Cotton
Louis Cotton, portrait by Dan Russell, 1967
State Library of South Australia
Alias Served as Lewy Cotten; Louis Cotton
Born 9.11.1894
Place Odessa, Ukraine
Ethnic origin Jewish
Religion Church of England
Father Joseph Andreus Cotton
Mother Mary
Family
Wife Ivy Gertrude Cotton (nee Jenkins), married 1924 in Adelaide, had a son
Residence before arrival at Australia Lived 3 years in France and 5 years in England
Arrived at Australia
from France
on 6.07.1914
per Phila
disembarked at Fremantle, WA
Residence before enlistment Perth, Adelaide
Occupation Waiter
Service service number 6141A
enlisted 8.06.1916
POE Perth
unit 16th Battalion; 4th Australian Division, traffic control detachment; Australian Provost Corps; 16th Battalion, 11th Battalion
rank Private
place Western Front, 1917-1918, England, 1918
final fate RTA 18.12.1919
discharged 21.03.1920
Naturalisation 1921
Residence after the war Perth, Adelaide
Materials
Digitised naturalisation (NAA)
Application for naturalisation (NAA)
Digitised service records (NAA)
Digitised Embarkation roll entry (AWM)
Publications
Suzanne Edgar, 'Cotton, Lewy (1894-1972)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1993.
Blog article
Newspaper articles
Fined for assault. - Advertiser, Adelaide, 6 February 1930, p. 7.
Hotel silent on tie incident. - News, Adelaide, 19 June 1951, p. 1.
Students' prank at S.A. Hotel. - News, Adelaide, 22 June 1951, p. 20.
No trousers - and "Phoouis to Louis". - West Australian, Perth, 23 June 1951, p. 2.
Louis says "We have rules about dress and we're going to keep them". - News, Adelaide, 23 June 1951, p. 1.
Hotel Gazette of South Australia, Jan 1970, Jan 1971, Jan 1973
News, Adelaide, 31 Jan 1958
Sunday Mail, Adelaide, 23 May 1959
Advertiser, Adelaide, 1 Jan 1971, 12 Jan 1973.
From Falling stars: The story of Anzacs from Ukraine:
Lewy or Louis Cotton, who served on the Western Front as Lewy Cotten, is one of the few natives of Ukraine to be honoured with an entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography. Leaving Odessa in his youth, he spent some time in France and England, where he received training as a waiter. Coming to Australia in 1914, he worked in Perth and Adelaide in this capacity, but became a celebrity after his return from the front, when he was appointed head waiter in the South Australian hotel on North Terrace in Adelaide. 'The establishment was patronized by snobs, the rich and the famous', according to Cotton's biographer Suzanne Edgar.
'Cotton went to an excellent tailor and wore a morning suit, then white tie and tails at night. Patrons savoured his European background and counted his smile or nod an accolade. Lewy's manner was discreet, his bearing lofty; he reputedly gained substantial tips, though was apparently never wealthy. His supervision of the gilded dining-room, where drunks never disturbed his aplomb, ensured that his and the hotel's reputation remained untarnished. This 'Prince of Head Waiters' relished meeting the great, among them Pavlova'.