Sidney Cotton - Postwar

Postwar

In 1948, Cotton spent time in the service of Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam of Hyderabad State. Using unarmed Avro Lancastrian transports, he organised airlifts of armaments, supplies and medicines from Hyderabad State during the advance of the Indian Army into Pakistan during formation executing Operation Polo, he was hired by HH Prince Mohammed Bakhtawar Khan and his eldest son H. E. Prince Mumtaz Ali Khan - First Muslim kaimkhani MNA Hyderabad, Deccan, India to bring urgent Gold reserves for their close friend and founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah to establish the urgent banking structure to pay urgent expenses on the formation of the new country and Government. For his activities in Hyderabad, he was convicted and fined 200 pounds in a British Court.Today, HH Prince Rashid Ali Khan steers and builds his Prince Rashid Ali Khan Economic Development Fund (Projects for Peoples Prosperity) in memory of his grandfather, HH Prince Mohammed Bakhtawar Khan, one of the founder families of Pakistan, as well as being a tribute to the assistance of Cotton at that time.

In 1951, Cotton married Thelma "Bunty" Brooke-Smith in what was his third marriage. Thelma was his former secretary, with whom he was to have another son and daughter.

In 1955, Cotton's death was erroneously reported in Flight magazine. A subsequent issue reported: "MR. F. SIDNEY COTTON has goodhumouredly characterised as "greatly exaggerated" the report of his death, quoted in our issue of 9 September from Australian sources. Apparently there was confusion with the name of a relative who was concerned with the design of aircrew pressure suits. Mr. Sidney Cotton, whose name is associated with the Sidcot flying suit, is in this country, and very much alive."

Although Cotton was very rich at various times in his life, his business dealings were dogged by bad luck and (in at least one case) doubtful behaviour by a business partner. He was reluctant to profit from his wartime innovations, even waiving his patent rights on the Sidcot suit. As with many buccaneering wartime "larger-than-life" characters, the postwar environment did not suit him at all. He dabbled in oil exploration, civil engineering and even gun-running, but died penniless. Cotton's life story was recorded in the book he wrote with Ralph Barker shortly before his death, Aviator extraordinary: the Sidney Cotton story.

On 13 February 1969, Cotton died in London. The principal monument to Cotton is a plaque marking his grave at Tallegalla cemetery near Brisbane. He is also memorialised in the name of the Sidney Cotton bridge on the O'Connell River, south of Proserpine, Queensland.