GOODWIN, Alfred Ernest
| Service Number: | 1164 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 August 1914, Two years previous militia service in 7 Battery, Victoria. |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 12 June 1887 |
| Home Town: | South Melbourne, Port Phillip, Victoria |
| Schooling: | South Melbourne State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Boilermaker |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 26 October 1916, aged 29 years |
| Cemetery: |
Guards Cemetery, Lesboeufs, Picardie |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Gunner, 1164, 6th Australian Field Artillery Battery, Two years previous militia service in 7 Battery, Victoria. | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement Gunner, 1164, 2nd Field Artillery Brigade , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Shropshire embarkation_ship_number: A9 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked Gunner, 1164, 2nd Field Artillery Brigade , HMAT Shropshire, Melbourne | |
| 26 Apr 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Gunner, 1164, 6th Australian Field Artillery Battery, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 12 Mar 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Bombardier, 6th Australian Field Artillery Battery | |
| 28 Mar 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Bombardier, 6th Australian Field Artillery Battery, Arrived Marseilles, France Unit deployed to Battle of the Somme. | |
| 20 Sep 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 6th Australian Field Artillery Battery, Promoted Corporal in the field. | |
| 26 Oct 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Corporal, 1164, 6th Australian Field Artillery Battery, AFC / RFC operations Western Front / Middle East, 26 Oct 1916 died from shrapnel wounds to the chest - 87th Fd Amb. | |
| 26 Oct 1916: | Involvement Corporal, 1164, 2nd Field Artillery Brigade , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1164 awm_unit: 2 Field Artillery Brigade awm_rank: Corporal awm_died_date: 1916-10-26 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Luigi Alaimo
Alfred Ernest GOODWIN
Alfred Ernest was the first child of Alice Goodwin, born in Melbourne when she was 23 to an unknown father. A year later, she married John Berry Thomas and had four more sons with him.
Alfred became a boilermaker, and married Jane Laing Spiers Heggie (of Scottish descent) in 1909.
He enlisted for World War I on 17 August 1914, and became a Gunner with the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade, No. 6 Battery. He embarked on HMAT Shropshire with his unit and first served in Gallipoli. His younger half brother Frederick Thomas who was a driver in the same unit embarked on the same ship.
Alfred died from shrapnel wounds in the Battle of the Somme on 26 October 1916.
He was originally buried at Flers Road Cemetery, and later moved to the Guard's Cemetery,
Lesboeufs, France,
His wife Jane was left a war widow with their 7 year old son, Gordon Frederick Goodwin.
Of his four half brothers, two, Frederick and Charles, also fought as ANZACS, returned home in September and October 1918 respectively, and died together on 1918 Boxing Day level-crossing accident in Altona, Victoria.
Biography contributed by Luigi Alaimo
Alfred's other half-brother No 290 William John THOMAS, 1st Div Sig Coy served in the AIF 1915-18. William returned to Aust early 2019 to discover his two brothers had been killed in the 28 Dec 18 railway accident.Four of the five boys from the Thomas-Goodwin family served in WW1.
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