Company Sergeant Major Otto Garfield Wright was rising star in the Canterbury Infantry Regiment before his death in September 1918. He had been born in Kaiapoi on 21 August 1896 and lived at Coutts Island with his family. Otto Wright had been educated at Coutts Island School and later at Kaiapoi District High School. Prior to enlistment, he worked on his father's farm at Coutts Island. He must have been considered to be a promising soldier, as he was promoted rapidly from Private to Company Sergeant Major despite being a relatively young man. He enlisted in June 1916 when he was barely 20 years old. He was posted to the 2nd Battalion of the Canterbury Infantry Regiment in March 1917. His performance at Messines and Passchendaele had been recognised with a promotion to Corporal on 29 October 1917, and from then on promotion was rapid. As a replacement for the wounded Lance-Sergeant McGregor, he was detached to the Corps School of Instruction on 11 November 1917, and confirmed as full Sergeant less than three weeks later. Returning to his unit in the New Year, he was sent again to the Army Central School in March 1918, only to return in early April 1918 for the desperate battles around Amiens. When the current Company Sergeant Major Anderson was sent to England for officer training, Otto Wright was promoted to Warrant Officer Class II and detached to the Guards' Division Infantry School in June 1918. He rejoined his unit as CSM on 10 August, and two weeks later was wounded in action in the abdomen. Despite being evacuated to two casualty clearing stations, this promising young soldier died of his wounds on 1 September 1918. Otto Wright was buried at the Bagneux British cemetery near Gezaincourt in northern France. He is comemmorated along with four other men on the Coutts Island War Memorial.
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