Lieut. Eric Hector Goodfellow

Son of Thomas and Jane G. Goodfellow, of The Brae, Golf Rd., Auckland, New Zealand. Pupil at Auckland Grammar in 1906 - 1909. Decided to study medicine at Edinburgh from 1913 and excelled in his studies winning medals and prizes. First enlisted with the Royal Army Medical Corps, serving with the Australian Field Hospital. Commissioned with the Royal Field Artillery leaving for the Front in 1915. Wounded and convalescing in England he was recalled to his battery at Kut-el-Amara and was shot in the head whilst directing the fire of his guns. Attended Auckland University College (now the University of Auckland). Source: Cenotaph.

Like many New Zealanders in Britain when War was declared, Goodfellow was keen to serve. He immediately volunteered for the Royal Army Medical Corps and was soon in France, serving as a Private in the Australian Volunteer Hospital1 by the end of September 1914. But by mid-October 1914, Goodfellow had transferred to the Artillery. It is possible that, as a Medical Student, he had been ordered to return to his studies, with his only option for on-going military service being to transfer to a combat role. Equally, he may have been asked to consider the change given his artillery experience in New Zealand. Irrespective of the reasons, Eric Goodfellow entered the Artillery School at Aldershot and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, returning to France in February 1915. He was assigned to the 28th Battery, IX Royal Field Artillery, as part of the Meerut Division of the Indian Forces. By this time of the War, considerable numbers of Indian troops were in France. The Battery saw a lot of fighting in 1915 and Goodfellow was promoted to Lieutenant. He was wounded at the Battle of Loos in September 1915 and evacuated to England for treatment and recovery. The need to exert British control in Mesopotamia led to the IX Brigade transferring, in December 1915, from the Western Front to Basra, Mesopotamia. Soon after arriving, the Brigade was ordered to assist the attempts to relieve the troops at Kut. On 8th March 1916, the Brigade was in action at Dijorilah Redoubt on the Tigris River. Goodfellow was acting as the Forward Observation Officer, a role that required direct observation of the effect of the artillery fire. Goodfellow was wounded, but he refused to leave his position. He carried on his observer role and, in order to gain a better view of the battlefield, he stood, thus further exposing himself to enemy fire. He was again hit, this time in the head and killed instantly. Source: Auckland Grammar School Biography.

Sources

1. Auckland Grammar School Biography: https://ags.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/6932
2. Cenotaph Record http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C...