Arbour Hill Commandant in 1916

A nice set of plans for the British built Arbour Hill Detention Barracks in Dublin is available to view on the Irish Military archives website. These plans carry a variety of dates up to 1913 so likely the layout at the outbreak of WW1 and during the Easter Rising.

We know that Sir Roger Casement passed briefly through the building on his way to imprisonment in London thanks to reporting by the Irish Times in 1916. Collected by Sergeant Thomas Bracken (number 762) of the Military Foot Police (formerly number 5931, Royal Dublin Fusiliers). Bracken was a Company Sergeant Major when discharged from the British Army in 1920, having enlisted in 1896. Like Sir Roger, Bracken had been awarded the Queen's South Africa (QSA) medal for service during the 2nd Anglo-Boer War. Bracken also awarded the King's South Africa (KSA) medal.

The National Library of Ireland holds a list of Easter Rising prisoners in the barracks on 2nd May 1916, which includes Patrick Pearse. Pearse executed the following day. This list signed off by Major Cotton, Commandant of the Detention Barracks.

Major Cotton's name also appears on a pass held by the South Dublin County Council Library Service. The pass allowed a Miss Callender to bring food to Patrick Pearse during his detention in Arbour Hill. Mrs Callender owned a restaurant nearby.

Her son, Lance Corporal Brian Callender (number 22218 Royal Dublin Fusiliers) was killed in France on the 29th April 1916 and I have blogged about him previously.

There aren't too many references to Major Cotton in any Easter Rising related books or repositories. He appears to be Major Benjamin Temple Cotton (1862-1925) of the King's Shropshire Light Infantry. He left the British Army in 1892 after being wounded in the "Soudan" but rejoined at the outbreak of WW1. Served in France early in WW1 but returned to England due to illness and assigned a new role. The following from the London Gazette mentions his appointment under the heading Detention Barracks but not specifically mentioning Arbour Hill :

Benjamin Cotton served under Sir Francis Grenfell's command in Egypt and Sudan, as did Grenfell's nephew John Grenfell Maxwell. Maxwell taking command in Ireland during the Easter Rising.

Cotton appears to have been the British officer most seriously wounded at the Battle of Toski (there weren't many casualties on the British/Egyptian side - 25 killed).

A recent arrival, "Tokar 1891" by Mark Reid carries a small summary re the career, wounds, medals, etc of Benjamin Cotton.