GOODGAME, William John
| Service Number: | VX35964 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 13 July 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Ballarat, Central Highlands - Victoria, Australia, 24 November 1919 |
| Home Town: | Camperdown, Corangamite, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed In Action At 'The Old Strip', Buna, New Guinea, 24 December 1942, aged 23 years |
| Cemetery: |
Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery, Papua New Guinea A8. F. 9. OUR HERO IN GOD'S CARE, HE GAVE HIS ALL WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HIM Commemorated on the AWM and at Camperdown Vic, Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery, Bomana, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 13 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Private, VX35964, 2nd/10th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Jul 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Lance Corporal, VX35964, 2nd/10th Infantry Battalion | |
| 1 Sep 1942: | Involvement Lance Corporal, VX35964, 2nd/10th Infantry Battalion, Milne Bay - Papua New Guinea WW2 | |
| 8 Dec 1942: | Involvement Lance Corporal, VX35964, 2nd/10th Infantry Battalion, Buna / Gona / Sanananda "The Battle of the Beachheads" - Papua |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Steve Larkins
William John GOODGAME, 2nd/10th Battalion (1919-1942)
William Goodgame was the son of Alexander and Minnie Louisa Goodgame; born in Ballarat, Victoria on the 24th November 1919, William was married to Jean Goodgame, of Seddon, Victoria when he enlisted into the 2nd AIF on 13th July 1940, allocated to the 2nd/10th Battalion.
He served with the Battalion in the Middle East during the siege of Tobruk and returned to Australia in early 1942, before deploying to Papua New Ginea in mid 1942. The 10th Battalion, along with its parent Brigade the 18th, was located at Milne Bay when the Japanese attacked on 25th August 1942. The 2nd/10th was deployed along the eastern extremity of the Brigade position and so the Japanese assault came right through it.
Lance Corporal William Goodgame and his mate Gordon Watkins are explicitly mentioned in Peter Brune's book "A Bastard of a Place" p532, in respect of the fight for Buna after the 18th Brigade was sent to reinforce the US 32nd Division arriving on 8th December 1942.
They were both grievouusly wounded in the 2nd / 10th's attack on the 24th December 1942 along the line of 'The Old Strip' east of the Buna Mission. They were brought to the Battalion Regimental Aid Post where they were attended by the Regimental Medical Officer Captain Geoff Verco. As recounted by Lieutenant John "Andy" Andrews, the Battalion signals Officer, they had;
"the most terrible wounds I think I've ever seen, hit in the stomach, and they were two men from D Company and their names were Watkins and Goodgame, and they were only lads.....they were inseparable cobbers, mates. They came to put Watkins and Goodgame on the stretchers (in the RAP) and they rolled one of them onto the stretcher and his intestines stayed on the ground, and they were still conscious both of them. And each was saying "Never mind about me, look after my mate". I didn't realise at the time, I should have known, Geoff Verco told me afterwards that he looked at these blokes and they were hopelss....so he kept shooting them with morphine...".
Two mates who died together thinking of the other to the last. A more powerful epiphet is hard to come by.
Steve Larkins Aug 2020