THREE Guiseley brothers killed in the First World War are to be commemorated by the Professional Golfers’ Association.

Harry, Albert and William Cottrell were killed in action while a fourth sibling, Leslie, avoided their fate because he was not old enough to enlist.

All the brothers became professional golfers. Harry, the eldest, and Albert, began their golfing careers with Harry Fulford at Bradford. Harry encouraged Albert to see some of the world and sent him to work with Brian Hylton H Cockburn, a Yorkshireman and golf pro, at Le Touquet in France.

The war broke out six months later and both Harry and Albert enlisted in the Sherwood Foresters, serving together in the Dardanelles. Albert was wounded during the landing at Suvla Bay and Harry was shot dead by a sniper as he dressed his sibling’s wounds. A second shot finished Albert’s short life.

Meanwhile, William, who was the professional at Otley and played in the 1913 Open, had emigrated to America and was a pro at Plymouth Country Club, Massachusetts. He volunteered for active service when America entered the war in 1917 and was killed in the Battle of Meuse two days after his 27th birthday in October 1918, a month before hostilities ended.

The trio were among the seven per cent of the PGA’s membership who lost their lives in the conflict and their names will be engraved on a commemorative plaque at the Association’s national headquarters at The Belfry.

Former PGA chairman Dr Phil Weaver is endeavouring to establish the names of all golf professionals and assistants killed in the conflict. Of the sportsmen who died in the Somme campaign, 11 were PGA Professionals. Having established their identities, Dr Weaver is trying to find names of other members killed in the war. Bradford First World War Society has been helping out with the research.

“The Association had 840 members in 1913. Seven per cent of the membership were killed in the conflict,” said Dr Weaver, who gained much of his information from a rare copy of the Association’s list of members for 1913. “All The PGA’s records, lists, minutes and the like were stored at Ethelburga House, London, and destroyed when the building was bombed during the Second World War.

“If I had PGA documents from that period I feel sure there would have been a list establishing who had been killed in the war, enabling me to conduct a far more straightforward process.”

Dr Weaver plans to write to golf clubs asking if they can help his research. “Aside from the terrible waste of life, one thing that stands out is that so many of our members who perished were very young, some no more than boys,” he said.

“It’s important the PGA remembers those who made the ultimate sacrifice so we’re determined and committed to identify those of our own who went to war and never returned.”