Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Alfred Godfrey Thredgold
Born 20 April 1895
Died 6 March 1970
Married 20 July 1919

Margaret Mary Hall
Born 5 February 1899
Died 26 August 1985

As his father’s name was also Alfred, Alfred Godfrey’s family used his second name. One of his sisters could not pronounce Godfrey correctly, so he became ‘Gough’ but he later decided to be known as Goff when he was in the army. Later again he became known as Geoff.

Geoff was educated at Sturt Primary and on leaving school worked in the family brick making firm. The family lived at 16 Township Road, Marion.
Geoff enlisted in the AIF on 30 June 1915 at the age of 20. After basic training he left Australia on 18 November 1915 bound for Egypt. In June 1916 he arrived in France and on 19 July 1916 he took part in the Battle of Fromelles. This was the first major battle on the western front for the AIF. Wounded in this action he was sent to England to recuperate. He was a prolific letter writer sending home many letters to his mother and sisters.

It was during his time of convalescing from a second wounding that he met his future wife Maggie. They married on 20 July 1919 in Weymouth England and honeymooned in Torquay. In a letter home to his mother Geoff described the honeymoon ‘as one glorious dream of delight’. In December of that year they embarked on the journey home to Australia. Geoff spent most of the voyage in the hospital infirmary.

Initially they lived with May and Alf, then rented a house in Goodwood. After the birth of their 2nd child, in 1926 they moved into a new home at 29 Albert Street, Edwardstown.

Geoff worked as a motor trimmer for Richards Motor Body Works at Mile End (later Chrysler). He enlisted for the Second World War and served in Australia in the Pay Corp.

After the war he fulfilled a lifelong ambition and took over his father’s market gardens. This was established on the 2½ acres of land surrounding the house in Township Road.

Geoff and Maggie had six children. Geoff was very interested in family history and was a great family man always involved and interested in the lives of his children and grandchildren. Before her marriage Maggie had trained as a Milliner and did her apprenticeship with Bond Marsh. In 1925 Maggie’s mother Annie Louisa Hall and a sister Mabel immigrated to Australia to join Maggie and Geoff.
Geoff was a member of the Edwardstown RSL Mouth Organ Band and was involved in Electric Light Cricket. A meeting held on 2 August 1938 of ‘a number of Dads and 14 members’ resolved to form a team and affiliate with the Sons of Soldiers League.

Geoff and Maggie are buried at Centennial Park.

Family of Alfred Godfrey & Margaret Mary Thredgold

1 Robert Geoffrey 7 December 1922
2 Ina Margaret 14 August 1924 7 December 1996 (Murrell)
3 Marie Annie May 20 June 1928 (Mortimer)
4 Bruce Sharman 15 July 1929
5 Josephine Mabel 22 December 1934 (Newman)
6 Edward David 9 July 1936

A transcript of Geoff’s letter to his mother – written 26 July 1916

My Dearest Mother,

As I am the only left in the ward, (all the rest have gone for a drive) I thought I would amuse myself for a while, or until my hand aches too much, and write a few lines to you at home. I suppose you have received news of me before now and I suppose are worrying a good deal. Well, there is no need to worry at all as I am getting on fine, and hope to get up tomorrow. The only thing that is keeping me in bed is I have a bit of a temperature through catching a chill just before we left France.

Well it is a week ago today since we made the charge and I have dreamt about it every night since. I will give a little about it but not too much, as it is too horrible to talk about. We started the charge about 5.30 and as soon as we scaled our own parapet the lads began to fall. We went over (that is the first line) in three rushes. In our second rush we had reached the Germans barbwire entanglements. As we lay there, Smith of No 1 platoon, who was on my right was shot through both legs and a chap on my left was shot in (the) head, while I was just grazed on the cheek. Well just enough to make the blood flow. There was simply a hail of bullets flying over our heads, and passed us, but we did not stay there long, as with a cheer we rushed on into the German lines. They did not show much resistance, but ran like rabbits.

My first glimpse of our enemy was a poor wounded fellow, who thought I was going to put my bayonet into him, and he began crying out for mercy, and putting his hands above his head. I had no time to waste on him, and he was harmless so I passed on. Fritz by this time was fairly raining in shrapnel and high explosive shells, and farther up the communication trench, a party of us were rushing around a corner, I was one of the last four, and a shrapnel burst, killing the three in front and not even scratching me. The second time I was let off free, and I could not help realizing, that God was sparing me.

That was a heartrending sight, to see your comrades being shot around you, a sight I never wish to see again as long as I live. We worked our way out a good way, and I stopped out to the farthermost point until I got my scratches, which bought me here. A hand grenade burst right in front of me, and I thought I touched the sky. I could not see or hear for a few moments. I soon got my wounds bound up by an NCO and began to crawl back to our original line. The place was strewn with wounded, but the stretcher bearers could not get across to them. I managed to get back safely, and brought a chap back who was nearly blind. He had been shot across the eyes.

Coming across No-man's land, the ground between our lines (and) the enemies - it was heartrending to see the lads hanging in the barbwire, riddled with bullet holes. I got (to) the dressing station safely, and will tell you all about my experiences from there to England in my next letter. I only saw one of our section after we began the charge so you may guess I am a little anxious to learn a little of them. I couldn't find out anything about Les either. Well as I look back on it all, I can't help thinking how good God was been in bringing me through with so slight scratches. I was lucky in coming to England. I would not have got this far, if the hospitals in France had not been so crowded. I feel that is has been your and others prayers that has bought me through. Well mother Darling we have come to a fine place here, we are being treated like Kings. I will tell more about the place next time I write, which will only be a few days, as I am going to write all I can while in E. Please remember me to all friends, With best love and kisses to all.
From Your Loving Son, Goff

From War Record:
21/7/1916 Wounded in Action. S. W. (shrapnel wound) Head and R. Hand. However describes in this letter that the charge took place a week ago, and in the next letter that he was looked at by a doctor in the early hours of the 20th. Therefore both the battle and subsequent wounding took place on the 19th July 1916. The date of this letter would then be - Wednesday,26th July 1916. 5-30 referred to 5-30p.m. (The time of the charge.)

From Australian War Museum literature;
‘The Australians, who became known as the ‘the Diggers’, were first in action while raiding enemy trenches in ‘the Nursery’, a sector where newly arrived units were given their early experience of trench warfare in Europe. Their raids took place in the Bois Grenier-Armentieres-Fromelles area. It was here, too, that the AIF fought its first major battle of the Western Front. On 19 July 1916 the 5th Division, which had arrived from Egypt only ten days previously, was ordered to attack German positions at Fromelles, partly in order to prevent the enemy from reinforcing their lines on the Somme, where the British had launched a major offensive on 1 July.

At Fromelles every advantage lay with the Germans. They held the high ground and had been established there for 18 months. The 5th Division’s attack was made in a narrow front in broad daylight and under heavy artillery and machine-gun fire. Fighting with extraordinary courage, the Diggers broke into part of the German lines and held it for a time. However, the Germans, counter-attacked from the flanks, prevented any further Australian success and withdrawal became inevitable. In 27 hours of incessant fighting the 5th Division lost 5,533 men killed, wounded or captured, a quarter of its strength, and were driven back to their own start line.’

Geoff’s war experiences stayed with him, as they did with other diggers, all his life although he would never talk extensively about them.

His daughter Jo remembers giving her father cheek about the small amount of water he was washing dishes in and he angrily said ‘ you’d conserve water too if you had to drink tea made with water with a dead German floating in it’.

His son Ted remembers that his father would often cry out in the night as if still dodging bullets.

The older grandchildren of Maggie and Geoff remember lovely Christmas’, family occasions and picnics with lots of others to play and run with and the love given and shown to them by their grandparents.