GOODWILL, Walter
| Service Number: | 1657 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 December 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 49th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Hull, Yorkshire, England, 1880 |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Hull Board School, Yorkshire, England |
| Occupation: | Joiner |
| Died: | Killed in action, Mouquet Farm, France, 3 September 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Dec 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1657, 49th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Apr 1916: | Involvement Private, 1657, 49th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: SS Hawkes Bay embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 20 Apr 1916: | Embarked Private, 1657, 49th Infantry Battalion, SS Hawkes Bay, Sydney |
Help us honour Walter Goodwill's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Walter was the son of John James and Mary Goodwill of Hull, England. Their son Walter had left England in 1905 when he was about 25 years of age. He arrived and stayed in Auckland, New Zealand for some time. Walter was a carpenter by trade. He eventually settled down in Suva, Fiji, where he lived for about seven years up until late 1915 when he and a friend, George Kenrick, left Fiji to enlist in Brisbane, Queensland. Kenrick had worked as a shipping clerk in Fiji for many years.
The two friends both enlisted in the 49th Battalion AIF on the same day, 21 December 1915. Both were reported missing during the Australian’s last attack on Mouquet Farm which caused very heavy casualties amongst the 49th Battalion. Goodwill was seen by a number of witnesses to have been directly hit by a heavy high explosive shell. His friend, George Kenrick died the same day.