Basil Cottle facts for kids

Arthur Basil Cottle (1917–1994) was a very smart British expert. He studied language (a grammarian), history, and old things (an archaeologist). He was also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA), which is a group for people who study history and old objects. He spent most of his life in Bristol, England.

Growing Up and Learning

Cottle was born in Cardiff, Wales, on March 17, 1917. His father was a clerk and his mother was a school teacher.

He went to Howard Gardens Secondary School in Cardiff. Even as a young boy, he was very talented and smart. A Welsh poet named Evan Frederic Morgan noticed how clever he was. Morgan let Cottle use the huge library at Tredegar House.

When he was a teenager, Cottle got very sick with rheumatic fever. This illness hurt his eyesight permanently. He even lost sight in his right eye. But this didn't stop him!

Cottle went to the University of Wales. He earned top grades in English and Latin, and good grades in Greek. Greek was his favorite subject. At university, he met Dr. Victor Erle Nash-Williams. Dr. Nash-Williams was an expert in archaeology at the National Museum Cardiff. He taught Cottle about ancient Roman and early Celtic Christian history. This sparked Cottle's lifelong interest in these topics.

Dr. Nash-Williams wanted Cottle to work in a museum. But Cottle decided to become a school teacher instead. He got a top degree in education and taught at Cowbridge Grammar School.

World War II Service

When World War II started, doctors said Cottle was not healthy enough for fighting. So, he joined the Royal Pioneer Corps as a private. This group helped with building and other support tasks.

In May 1941, while stationed near Liverpool, he saw the Liverpool Custom House burn down. This happened during a German air raid.

Later, he moved to the Royal Army Educational Corps. He taught soldiers and rose to the rank of Sergeant-Major. During this time, he became good friends with two sisters, Hilda and Queenie Iredale. They helped him learn more about the poets Thomas Traherne and Henry Vaughan. These poets became Cottle's favorites. He later taught many students in Bristol to love their poems too.

In 1943, Cottle got a special job. He was sent to Bletchley Park. This was a secret place where British experts worked to decode enemy messages. Cottle read secret messages from the German Enigma machine.

In 1945, he worked for the Foreign Office. He helped with the Albanian section during a civil war there. He even wrote a grammar book for the Albanian language for the Foreign Office to use. He worked with Stuart Edward Mann, another linguist. Mann had many interesting stories about Albania and its King Zog. Cottle loved to share these stories!

Teaching and Research

In 1946, Cottle started working at the University of Bristol. He was an assistant lecturer in the English department. He became a senior lecturer in 1962. By 1976, he was a reader in mediaeval studies. This means he was a very respected expert in the history and culture of the Middle Ages.

He taught many different subjects. These included ancient Greek poetry, early Irish art, the Anglo-Saxons, and Middle English. He also taught about names and famous writers from Bristol.

Cottle was very proud of his Welsh background. He called himself a Welshman and an Anglican (a type of Christian). He loved studying family histories and symbols (heraldry). Because of his strong Welsh roots, he gave his large collection of books to St Woolos Cathedral, Newport. This is also where he was buried.

Some of his students at Bristol became famous. One was the novelist Deborah Moggach. Another was Thomas Lingen Burton, who became a professor of Middle English.

Cottle's love for archaeology continued. He helped dig up Keynsham Abbey. He became the president of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society. He was also chosen as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. This is a big honor for people who study history and old objects.

He was very active in his church. He supported the traditional ways of the Church of England. He helped look after several churches in Bristol. He also helped many university students during his time as a Sub Warden at Wills Hall and Burwalls.

Cottle retired in 1982. But he stayed busy! He continued to give lectures and write reviews. In 1987, his former students and colleagues honored him. They created a special book of studies called Medieval Literature and Antiquities: Studies in Honour of Basil Cottle.

His personal and academic papers are kept at the University of Bristol.

Important Books

Cottle wrote many books and articles. Here are some of his most well-known works:

• The Life of a University (1951) – about the University of Bristol.
• St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol (1957) – about a famous church.
• The Penguin Dictionary of Surnames (1967) – a popular book about where last names come from.
• The Triumph of English 1350–1400 (1969) – about the English language in the Middle Ages.
• Names (1983) – another book about names.
• The Language of Literature: English Grammar in Action (1985) – about how English grammar works in writing.
• A Grand Gossip: the Bletchley Park Diary of Basil Cottle 1943–1945 (published in 2017) – his diary from his time at Bletchley Park.