William GOUDEMEY DCM MID*

William GOUDEMEY DCM MID* Update Details

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GOUDEMEY, William

Service Number:	1745
Enlisted:	Not yet discovered
Last Rank:	Private
Last Unit:	2nd Infantry Battalion
Born:	St Peters, New South Wales, Australia, 1894
Home Town:	St Peters (NSW), Inner West Council, New South Wales
Schooling:	Not yet discovered
Occupation:	Labourer, Metal moulder
Died:	Killed in Action, France, 23 July 1916
Cemetery:	Not yet discovered
Memorials:	Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour

World War 1 Service

10 Apr 1915:	Involvement Private, 1745, 2nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Argyllshire embarkation_ship_number: A8 public_note: ''
10 Apr 1915:	Embarked Private, 1745, 2nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Argyllshire, Sydney
7 Aug 1915:	Honoured Distinguished Conduct Medal, The August Offensive - Lone Pine, Suvla Bay, Sari Bair, The Nek and Hill 60 - Gallipoli, On 7th August 1915 at Lone Pine, during a Turkish counter-attack, Captain Pain and three other men were ordered to get a Vickers machine gun into action. These three men were Private William Nicol (972), Private James Montgomery (1787), and Private William Goudemey (1745). The gun was placed on the shoulders of the three men while Captain Pain fired it. During the battle, a bullet pierced the machine gun's water jacket, spraying hot, boiling water over the men. Private Montgomery was wounded and died on 11th August 1915. Captain Pain was also wounded but continued firing, discharging 750 rounds before the gun was put out of action.

William Goudemey's Story

Early Life
William James Goudemey was born in 1894 in St Peters, Sydney, where he also grew up. A man of the Roman Catholic faith, he worked locally as a labourer and metal moulder before answering the call to serve. On 29th December 1914, he officially joined the war effort and was assigned the service number 1745.

Embarkation
He embarked with the 2nd Battalion, 4th Reinforcement, on 10th April 1915 from Sydney on the HMAT A8 Argyllshire.

Valor Beneath the Vickers: Gallipoli 1915
Goudemey joined the 2nd Battalion on 26th May 1915, just one month after the initial landings. On 7th August 1915 at Lone Pine, during a Turkish counter-attack, Captain Pain and three other men were ordered to get a Vickers machine gun into action. These three men were Private William Nicol (972), Private James Montgomery (1787), and Private William Goudemey (1745).

The gun was placed on the shoulders of the three men while Captain Pain fired it. During the battle, a bullet pierced the machine gun's water jacket, spraying hot, boiling water over the men. Private Montgomery was wounded and died on 11th August 1915. Captain Pain was also wounded but continued firing, discharging 750 rounds before the gun was put out of action.

They were all Mentioned in Despatches (MID), and Nicol and Goudemey were awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM). Captain Pain was awarded the Military Cross, and Goudemey was later awarded a second MID.

Western Front
Goudemey joined the 1st Pioneer Battalion on 10th March 1916 and was promoted to Lance Corporal on 7th February 1916.

Pozières
On 23rd July 1916, Goudemey was serving as a Lewis gunner. While charging across No Man's Land and getting behind the main German trench, Goudemey was likely making his way to the shattered village of Pozièrers. Goudemey was killed instantly, after being hit by a piece of shrapnel to the side of the head.

Three men reported on the casualty; one was Lance Corporal Frederick Prentice (2597). Prentice reported that Goudemey was killed at Pozières on 23rd of July 1916 while serving as a Lewis gunner. A party of gunners were in the frontline at the time when a shell caught them, killing Goudemey outright. Prentice, who was with him at the time, stated: "Goudemey and I had been 12 months together in the battalion. I knew him as Bill Goudemey. He was the only man of that name I knew in the battalion." Goudemey's grave was lost in subsequent fighting at Pozières, and his body has not been found.

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