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Remembered Today:

BEST SOLDIERS NAME EVER


ralphjd

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I've just found an old auction catalogue.

There's a pair to 124188 Driver J Gunner, Royal Artillery.

Cheers,

Nigel

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This chap is buried in the Australian section at Brookwood Military Cemetery

post-5512-1241868572.jpg

Name: GOODSIR, NORMAN OFFICER

Initials: N O

Nationality: Australian

Rank: Gunner

Regiment/Service: Australian Field Artillery

Unit Text: 1st Bde.

Age: 22

Date of Death: 15/08/1919

Service No: 28130

Additional information: Son of Noel Harrison Goodsir and Mabel Maud Goodsir, of Bank of Australasia, Maitland, New South Wales. Native of Traralgon, Victoria, Australia.

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead

Grave/Memorial Reference: IV. J. 3.

Cemetery: BROOKWOOD MILITARY CEMETERY

Officer is an unusual middle name, and combined with Goodsir makes it an interesting combination; None of his Service documentation ( Service record: National Archive of Australia http://naa12.naa.gov.au/NameSearch/Interfa...SearchForm.aspx & others at the Australian War Memorial (AWM) site http://www.awm.gov.au/research/people/ ) includes a mention of either 'Officer' or even the initial 'O' so it's possible that, as he wasn't one, he didn't want anyone in the military to know that he was one in name in order to avoid a ribbing. The situation appears to have been corrected by his father post war with its inclusion in the return of details that he made for his son's entry on the Australian Roll of Honour (this can be found on the AWM site under Goodsir's Roll of Honour entry)

Goodsir's story is rather a tragic one, he survived the war having been both wounded and gassed (seperately) only to meet his end on the receiving end of a bullet in London in rather unfortunate circumstances as recorded in The Times of August 20th 1919:

A HUSBAND'S JEALOUSY

MURDER OF AUSTRALIAN GUNNER

An Inquest was held at Southwark yesterday on the body of NORMAN GOODSIR, 22, an Australian gunner, who was shot by a man named Thomas Barker at Kennington Park-road, and died from his injuries in the 1st London General Hospital. The CORONER, recalling the circumstances, said that Barker, a cattle dealer of Kirkby Stephen, became suspicious of his wife because she took in two Australian soldiers as lodgers in the house. He bought the revolver on July 23, and, finding the door bolted, got in through a window, shot Goodsir and the other Australian soldier, named Perry, Mrs Barker, and finally himself. At the inquest on Barker and his wife a verdict of 'murder and suicide' was returned against the man. It was stated that Perry had recovered and returned to his depot.

Mrs Roelbink. a friend of Goodsir's relatives, living at Maida Vale, said she saw him in the hospital but he did not mention the affair.

P.C. Sherwood stated that he heard shots and saw Goodsir running outside the house. He had been shot through the chest, and on seeing witness, exclaimed, 'I have been shot. For God's sake stop him from doing any further mischief.'

It had been stated that Goodsir has been on non-military training, and had finished a six months' course, and was waiting for a boat home when the occurrence took place.

The jury returned a verdict of 'Wilful murder' against Barker.

It would obviously be totally wrong to speculate today, with only the sketchiest of details available, whether there might have been any foundation to the husband's suspicion. RIP

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Thanks for a very informative and detailed post Nigel.

Certainly it serves as a reminder to me that while I sit here and make fun with people's names, they were real people after all and lived and died in all kinds of circumstances. The whole Goodsir & Barker story is tragic. I hope they all have peace now.

Cheers,

Nigel

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Earlier today at Le Touret Millitary Cemetery I came across the headstone of:

DYSART WATT SPANKIE.

And at Trois Arbres on the headstone of 2/Lt T. W. Nops, there was an inscription quoting Nop's CO that said something like "His fall was as brave as any other soldier in this war".

Nops was a Kite Balloon officer!

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An officer in the MGC :- ADJUVANT TYRWHITT LUMLEY LUTHELL THIMBLEBY try getting that on the rim of a medal !! Ralph.

Not quite unusual but confusing for his mates perhaps, 3748 Private Sergeant, KRRC. :P

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Searching Ancestry will return a Field Marshall (sic) Mountain.

Cheers,

Nigel

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Maybe I should OPEN a new thread : WORSE SOLDIERS NAME EVER.

My candidate, a french soldier :

Germain Lallemand ( Could be translated by "German the Hun") .

Not so easy I guess to wear this name in a french unit in 1914 1918.

post-6797-1242281422.jpg

He requests in peace.

TD60

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On the Menin Gate, The Honourable Lyon George H Lyon Playfair, Captain RFA. I wonder if he was a sporting type?

In Hospital Farm there is the wonderfully named Lambert Playfair, an officer in the RFC. I can almost picture the monocle and waxed handlebar moustache.

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There's a Private A Nutter buried in Tyne Cot, 6/7 Royal Scots Fusiliers

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Guest KevinEndon

Here is one for a plaque

ROBERT ALBERT FEATHERSTONEHAUGH-WOOSTER,

A brilliant name for a gallant hero.

Kevin

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Apologies for dragging a WW2 name into this but in 1944 the CO of the 7th Parachute Battalion who were given a pretty nasty job on D-Day in Normandy..was Pine-Coffin......

Several veterans felt they might be in one by the end of the day.....

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W.O.2 H.M. Prince qualified for a 1914 Star trio, immediate M.S.M. and an L.S.G.C.

I once owned a Special Constabulary Long Service named to "Marshall Prince"

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  • 5 years later...

Earlier today at Le Touret Millitary Cemetery I came across the headstone of:

DYSART WATT SPANKIE.

And at Trois Arbres on the headstone of 2/Lt T. W. Nops, there was an inscription quoting Nop's CO that said something like "His fall was as brave as any other soldier in this war".

Nops was a Kite Balloon officer!

Thomas Waldegrave Nops was posted to France as a Balloon Officer in March 1916. On 21st October 1916, (to quote the Surrey Comet) he “was in the air in a kite balloon with an observation officer, when the aircraft was suddenly attacked by an enemy aeroplane. Instead of hurrying to get down, the gallant Lieutenant opened fire on the aeroplane with his rifle… In the excitement of the fight he did not appear to notice that the balloon had been set on fire at the top, until the flames spread and the balloon began to fall to the ground. He showed the observation officer how to put the final attachment to his parachute, and this having been accomplished he told his companion to jump. The officer did so, and reached the ground safely”. It appears that Thomas couldn’t get his own parachute attached in time as “He fell with the balloon and was killed instantaneously”. He was aged 23. It seems his C.O. had a droll sense of humour.

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Looking though the repatriations list on the ICRC website and came across A.SHORTHOUSE and there are a couple of other SHORTHOUSE's. :whistle:

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Reading a book called "the war behind the wire". There is mention of Major Hazard, surely every Tommy met him or perhaps one of his clones

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How about 'A Canon' (Driver 734) who served in the Royal Field Artillery?

Or 'J Kiltie' of the 1st Gordon Highlanders.

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or a sergant whose name was major. or the other way round!!

mike.

Not GW, but in the 80's I served in a TA Signals unit which had a Corporal Major; he was promoted and became Sergeant Major. Given name was Bob, and as he pointed out, he was the only Corporal Major outside the Household Cavalry.

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Given that the "i" is silent in the name "Partis", then the Private soldiers of that name might be thought a little unfortunate. There were several, but I don't really feel too comfortable about laughing at the names of fallen men.

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If I remember correctly, our late and lamented forum pal Kevin O'Neill originally joined the forum under the name of a chap he had served with, who was said to have tried his utmost to become a lance-corporal as quickly as possible ... Private Parts ...

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My contribution is one of the men I'm researching who was captured with my granddad. His name: Sween McQueen, Seaforth Hrs.

That's the name on his MIC and medal roll. On his ICRC record card it has a question mark after the word 'Sween'. As my daughter says, that's a real swagger name, better than anything Hollywood could come up with.

I have a feeling he enlisted under his tee name as I'm struggling to find him in census records.

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Not GW, but in the 80's I served in a TA Signals unit which had a Corporal Major; he was promoted and became Sergeant Major. Given name was Bob, and as he pointed out, he was the only Corporal Major outside the Household Cavalry.

There was a Cpl Major in the RAPC and some comieden at the Manning and Records office posted him to the Household Cavalry, on promotion he would have been posted to a unit that had Sgt. Majors

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Not GW, but in the 80's I served in a TA Signals unit which had a Corporal Major; he was promoted and became Sergeant Major. Given name was Bob, and as he pointed out, he was the only Corporal Major outside the Household Cavalry.

We had an individual of the same name, who amusingly progressed up the promotion ladder and another with the surname Sargent who did likewise. Also had a Robin Hood which was spot on for a regiment recruiting from Nottinghamshire, especially as he had been in the British junior archery team.

To return to a GW theme, King's Own had a bayonet instructor called Sgt James Blades; two rifle/bayonet men called John Daggers and Arthur Cutmore and there was a sniper in the 1/4th called James Shute. The mining-officer at Kemmel in August 15 was Lt Alfred Pick.

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  • 3 years later...

Norman Goodsir was the son of Noel Harrison Goodsir and Mabel Maude Officer and Norman Officer Goodsir was indeed his birth name

Edited by Guest
Added detail
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