Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Next of kin is given as his sister Miss. May Goode of Drummoyne; son of Alfred Goode of 38 Upper Bayview Street, North Sydney

Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal

   Biography of Sidney Goode/s

Service Number: 5088

1896 - 1916

Sidney Goodes was born in Drummoyne, NSW, Australia in 1896. However, his exact date of birth is unspecified. After examining several primary sources, it is understood that he migrated interstate from NSW to QLD, where he spent a few years in the latter state before doing his schooling in Sydney Technical High School[i]. In terms of religious denomination, he was a devout Christian, specifically under the Church of England[ii]. Before enlistment, Goodes’ occupation was that of a ‘station hand’ – an individual who worked at large agricultural properties. Apart from this, there were no other descriptions of Goodes’ central views, beliefs and interests. Glimpses of his social behaviour are conveyed through the accounts of fellow soldiers such as Sergeant PC Kibble, who described Sidney to have a “quiet disposition and a very pleasing manner”. [iii]

Due to the assistance of the ‘National Archives of Australia’, his “next of kin” was Mary Goodes (sister), yet limited information regarding her and Goodes’ mother (only other family members) in his life was mentioned. According to Sergeant H.S Hubble from the 13th Battalion, Sidney’s “father {was} in the AIF, I believe in the 28th or 7th Brigade”. 

He enlisted when he was nineteen on the 6th of January 1916 in Liverpool[iv]. Goodes embarked from Australia on the 31st of March 1916 to Egypt to undertake further military training.

After this phase, he became a member of the 13th Infantry Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and held the position of ‘Private’. He eventually fought on the Western Front, more specifically in the Battle of Mouquet Farm, which was part of the Battle of the Somme and began during the Battle of Pozieres.[viii] An important fact related to that war was that Australia’s three battalions launched nine attacks to take control of this position.

Unfortunately, Sidney Goode was killed in action (KIA), aged 19 on the 29th of August 1916 (on the battlefields of France and deceased as an unmarried individual. Also, since Goodes was unwed and died young, he left no descendants to carry his legacy. As a result of his successful tenure in his position, he was promoted from Private (PTE) to Lance Corporal (LCPL) on the 19th of August 1918 – a testament to his continual perseverance and determination. More about his death can be quoted from an eyewitness - Sergeant PC Kibble, who described the cause of it being due to a “shell which hit the dugout in which he (Sidney Goodes) was sitting, causing it to collapse”.[ix]

References:

[i]  Virtual War Memorial Australia (no date) Virtual War Memorial. Available at: https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/ (Accessed: 03 August 2024).

 
[ii] National Archives of Australia; address Queen Victoria Terrace, Parkes, ACT 2600; contact=+61 2 6212 3600 (no date)

View Digital Image, View digital copy. Available at: https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=4818523 (Accessed: 22 August 2024). Page 5

[iii] chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1062605/document/5650484.PDF – cannot be Harvard referenced, as it is a PDF.

 
[iv]  op cit, Virtual War Memorial ‘Service History’ section

 
[v] Op cit, National Archives of Australia, Page 5

 
[vi] Commonwealth Parliament; addressParliament House, C. (2015) ’to the last man’-australia’s entry to war in 1914, Home – Parliament of Australia. Available at: https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1415/AustToWar1914 (Accessed: 24 August 2024).

 
[vii] ibid 

[viii]Mouquet Farm (no date) Australian War Memorial. Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/PL885 (Accessed: 04 August 2024).

 
[ix] Op cit (iii) – Australian Red Cross Society Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau Files

Bibliography:

1. https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/

2.https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=4818523

3. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1062605/document/5650484.PDF

4.https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1415/AustToWar1914

5. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/PL885