 Otway was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in October 1944 for his outstanding leadership in the actions at Merville and Le Plein.The citation for his DSO stated that his utter disregard for personal danger had been an inspiration to all his men.He was regraded category 'A' in May 1945 and posted as Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion King's Regiment (Liverpool) (Wingate's Burma Force) in Rawalpindi with instructions to turn them into the 15th (King's) Parachute Battalion, part of 77th Indian Parachute Brigade attached to the 2nd Indian Airborne Division.