Goodings in the Armed Forces

Several of the members of the extended Gooding family were in the military and/or fought in the First World War.

Our ancestor, Arthur Gooding (1878 – 1933) travelled to Dublin and enlisted with the Hussars of the Line in December 1894, claiming to be 18 years old. We know from his enlistment medical that he was 5’ 7 3/4” tall with black hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. Unfortunately for Arthur, he was discharged from the army in January 1895 after a total of 54 days when he was discovered to be aged only 16.

Arthur Gooding’s older brother, Thomas Joseph Gooding, had enlisted in the Royal Artillery in 1889 when he was 18 years old, so it is likely that Arthur was wanting to follow in his footsteps. Thomas served as a driver and was called up to serve in the Boer War in South Africa, travelling there on 29 December 1899. His youngest child, Harold, was born the following month and given the middle name Orient, after the ship his father had sailed on. Thomas’s military records are unclear as to what happened to him in South Africa, but by August 1900 he was back home in Greenwich, where he sadly died, aged 30.

Private Frederick Bertie Gooding (1885 – 1917) was the son of Joseph Gooding with his second wife Mary Ann Gale, and therefore half brother of Arthur Gooding (1878 – 1933) and Thomas Joseph Gooding.   Fred served in the 11^th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment but was killed aged 32 in Flanders on 25 September 1917, leaving behind his wife of one year, Florence. He was buried in Wulverghem-Lindenhoek Road Military Cemetery, Heuvelland, West Flanders and is also commemorated at St James’s church, Southwark.

Arthur’s son, my great-grandfather, Arthur Joseph Charles Gooding (1900 – 1961) enlisted in the RAF on 1 December 1917, receiving the salary of one shilling per week in line with his “boy” status. At present, his army records are not available online, however Arthur wrote his own memoirs which provide a lot of detail of his early years in the armed forces.

Private Amos William Gooding (1894 – 1915) was George Jubilee and Susanna’s grandson, by their youngest son, Herbert Ellis Gooding, known as Ellis. He had joined the 4^th Battalion Oxford & Bucks Light Infantry in 1914, but was discharged later the same day for being medically unfit (spinal curvature). However he was later able to enlist in the 8^th Battalion Oxford & Bucks Light Infantry. Amos died of peritonitis aged 21, on 25 August 1915, in Salisbury. There are no records of his ever serving abroad. As Amos was still part of a military unit at the time of his death, he was however eligible to be included on the memorial inside St Peter’s Church, Marsh Baldon.

Private George Jubilee Gooding (1887 – 1917) was Amos William Gooding’s older brother. Though the grandson of George Jubilee Gooding (1809 – 1887), he probably took his middle name from Queen Victoria’s jubilee which was celebrated in 1887. He was a gardener, living at 20 Marsh Baldon when he enlisted in the 8^th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, aged 28, in February 1916. George Jubilee Gooding died on 12 June 1917 and is buried in an official war grave in Marsh Baldon churchyard, however his death is not commemorated on the memorial inside St Peter’s church, Marsh Baldon (see below). His army records show that he had been discharged the previous month (26 May 2018) due to being medically unfit; specifically “defective sight and defective intelligence”. It would appear that George Jubilee Gooding never saw active service during the First World War and his discharge from the army prior to his death may be the reason that he is not counted among the war dead on the memorial.

The Gooding brothers are buried side by side in Marsh Baldon. Both graves were only commissioned in 1927, suggesting that there may have been a dispute, with the family perhaps needing to provide evidence that their deaths were exacerbated due to their time in the territorial army.

Acting Bombadier Albert Edward Gooding (1897 – 1917) was the son of Edmund and Martha Gooding, great-nephew of George Jubilee Gooding (1809 – 1887) and a great-grandson of John Gooding (1769 – 1823) and Sarah Polley (1774 – 1863). He was born in Marsh Baldon, living at number 22, and enlisted for the 51^st Siege Battalion, Royal Garrison Artillery in 1915 aged 19. He died in of wounds on 20 September 1917, having fought in Ypres. He is buried at Spoilbank Cemetery, West Flanders. His grave is inscribed “He rests in peace but his name liveth for evermore”.

Arthur Victor Gooding (1898 – 1988) was the older brother of Albert Edward Gooding and was born and lived in Marsh Baldon. Having survived the war, he ran the village bakery in Nuneham Courtenay for 33 years before retiring and living in Wallingford. Arthur Victor gave an interview in 1981 on a local radio programme “Linger Awhile”. According to the programme’s records, he talked about:

… his early life in Marsh Baldon. Born in 1898, twelfth in a family of fourteen. The village at that time, no paved roads, horses the only transport. Talks about his schooldays, mentioning the strict discipline, the high of singing, maypole dancing. Occupations in the village. His father a bailiff for £1 a week, other workers had ten shillings. Everyone was poor, but they had gardens or allotments for growing food. Left school at 14, worked for a farmer, then for a and for his father until he was called up for the army. Importance of the village green, the annual fair, the cricket team. After the war he married and worked with his wife as village bakers at Nuneham Courtney 1925-1953 All the bread made by hand delivered to customers. They supplied bread to Lord Harcourt at Nuneham House. Never had a holiday. Old characters in the villages.

He died in 1988 and is buried in Marsh Baldon.

The service of the four men from Marsh Baldon is commemorated by a plaque in the porch of St Peter’s church. Amos and Albert are also commemorated on a memorial inside the church.

Noah George Jubilee Gooding (1887 – 1972) was born in Marsh Baldon and moved to Dorchester as a child with his parents Alfred and Celia (see School House). Noah was another great-nephew of George Jubilee Gooding (1809 – 1887) and great-grandson of John Gooding and Sarah Polley and was also named after Queen Victoria’s jubilee, the year he was born. Known as George, Noah served in the Royal Engineers, signing up at the age of 27 having previously been a bricklayer. He survived the war.