GOOD, William Barrett Silk
| Service Number: | 92 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 January 1915, Enlisted at Wonthaggi, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 22nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Albert Park, Victoria, Australia, February 1888 |
| Home Town: | Dalyston, Bass Coast, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Asphyxiation, mine explosion gas, Gallipoli, 29 October 1915 |
| Cemetery: |
Shrapnel Valley Cemetery, Gallipoli Plot 111. Row C, Grave 8 Rev. T.P. Bennett officiated |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 25 Jan 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 92, 22nd Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Wonthaggi, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 10 May 1915: | Involvement Private, 92, 22nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ulysses embarkation_ship_number: A38 public_note: '' | |
| 10 May 1915: | Embarked Private, 92, 22nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ulysses, Melbourne | |
| 29 Oct 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, ANZAC / Gallipoli |
Help us honour William Barrett Silk Good's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Carol Foster
Son of Mary Annas Good of Dalyston, Victoria
Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Biography contributed by Stephen Brooks
William Barrett Silk Good was one of three sons who served in the AIF, sons of James Good and his wife Mary Annas Silk Good, who lived on a farm at Dalyston, South Gippsland, Victoria.
All three brothers, William, Horace, and Lindsay, farmers, enlisted in the same week in January 1915 and were posted to the 22nd Battalion. All three were attached to C Company.
On 10 June 1915 the brothers landed in Cairo, where they remained in training until September. It was early on 6 September 1915 when they were landed at Gallipoli.
On the 29 October 1915 a tragic incident occurred, such events being an almost daily occurrence on Gallipoli. At about 3pm, a mine driven under the Turkish lines was “blown” under the supervision of a lieutenant who, before the fumes cleared, went below and was asphyxiated. A fellow engineer went to his rescue, but shared a similar fate. Undeterred by these deaths two officers and a number of men entered the shaft and worked on the recovery of the bodies. William Good was one of those men.
According to a newspaper article in printed in 1916, William’s brother Horace, wrote the following to his mother,
“A couple of men went to examine an exploded mine, and were overcome by the gas caused by the explosion. Volunteers were called for, and though there were dozens of volunteers Will was among the first half-dozen, and went in when the gas was at its worst. The result was that he got it so badly that he did not recover. Will is not the only one who lost his life trying to save others. Two doctors, a couple of Red Cross men, Lindsay and I worked for two hours trying to bring him round, but he showed no signs of recovery at any time. Even when the doctors gave up we did not like leaving him. He was laid to rest in the cemetery at 7.30 p.m. on October 29. Poor Will, he was always thinking of you all, and looking forward to the day when we would all be together again. He died a hero, and you will all feel proud of him.”
The other men who died of gas poisoning in this incident were Lieutenant F.D.A. Bowra, Lieutenant C.H.W. Thom and Sapper F.J.H. Currington, all of the 4th Field Company Engineers and Private Gustav Stelling of the 22nd Battalion. The five men are all buried in the Shrapnel Gully Cemetery.
William Good’s mother has also received letters of sympathy from Colonel H. Crouch, officer commanding the 22nd Battalion, and Captain Chaplain T. P. Bennett, of the same battalion.
William’s brothers both survived the war and returned to Australia in 1919, Private Horace Wilfred Colville Good and Lindsay George Arnold Good rising to the rank of Lieutenant and being awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for charging a German machine gun post in 1917.
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