Robert John Charles Otter

He was the eldest son of Robert Charles and Marianne Eva Otter (nee North) who were married on 28 January 1880. They were living at Edwinstowe Hall, Nottinghamshire, when their first child, Robert John Charles, was born on 12 January 1881. They were still living at the Hall at the time of the 1891 census and by then had four children; Robert, Eva Mary (29 March 1882), Dorothy (14 May 1886) and Robin (7 April 1888). The family moved to Royston Manor, Clayworth, the same year; the Manor dated from the late 16th century and had been lived in by some member of the Otter family almost continuously since then. Their third son, Henry Royston, was born on 20 April the same year and was followed by another son, Antony, on 8 September 1896. (Antony was vicar at Lowdham and Gunthorpe, Notts, and an honorary canon of Southwell Cathedral from 1931 until in 1949 he was appointed Suffragan Bishop of Grantham.) Robert was at home on the occasion of the 1901 census but was already a second lieutenant in the Norfolk Regiment; he was promoted lieutenant in the same regiment on 22 January 1904 (his mother's family came from Norfolk). His brother, Henry Royston joined the Royal Navy in January 1904 and joined HMS Canopus as a midshipman in 1908. In December the following year Henry was accidentally shot while he was practising target shooting with a revolver while he was at home on leave; he was seriously wounded in the head and died the same day. In 1911 only Dorothy remained at home with their parents while both Robert, now a captain, and his brother Robin, a lieutenant, were serving abroad (India/Ceylon) with the Norfolk Regiment. In 1914 Robert married Gwendoline Ethel (nee Chetwynd) in Jul/Aug/Sep 1914; Gwendoline later remarried (surname Benars). His mother, Marianne, died on 3 January 1917. Her husband remarried in December the same year Mary Eleonora (nee Chetwynd) and they had five children; Robert Charles (2 May 1921), Constance, Catherine, Caroline and John. Robert was killed in action in the Middle East in October 1942 aged 21. Mary Eleonor had died at Clayworth on 30 October 1936 aged 42 and her husband on 25 October 1939 aged 86; his memorial in Clayworth St Peter's church includes the words, ‘A lover of men and of all living things, especially children of whom he brought up eleven’. Royston Manor was lived in by Robin Otter, now a Lieutenant Colonel and holder of the MC although by the time of his death in 1965 he was living in Kings Lynn, Norfolk.

He was a regular soldier, having joined the army (Norfolk Regiment), serving for some time overseas before taking part in the South African campaign in 1901 during which he was wounded. He was killed in action at Wulverghem and buried in Dranouter Churchyard, France (grave ref (ll.B.2)

Memorial in Clayworth St Peter: 'To the glory of God and in loving memory of Robert John Charles Otter, Captain, the Norfolk Regiment, eldest son of RC and ME Otter. Born Jany 12th 1881. Married 1914, Gwendoline Ethel Berners. Wounded in the S. African War 1901, killed in action at Wulverghem, February 15th 1915, buried in the churchyard of Dranoutre, France. His life he gave to his country, his soul to God.'