George Goodman (Royal Navy officer) explained

George Herbert Goodman
Birth Date:1900 11, df=yes
Birth Place:Bromsgrove, England
Death Place:Rotterdam, Netherlands
Placeofburial:The Hague (Westduin) General Cemetery
Allegiance:United Kingdom
Branch:Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
Serviceyears:1939–1945
Rank:Lieutenant commander
Unit:
Battles:Second World War
Awards:George Cross
Member of the Order of the British Empire

Lieutenant Commander George Herbert Goodman, (25 November 1900 – 31 May 1945)[1] [2] of the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve was awarded the George Cross for the "great gallantry and undaunted devotion to duty" he showed on 15 January 1942 in defusing an Italian circling torpedo.

Naval career

Goodman was attached to HMS Vernon, HMS President and HMS Nile (Alexandria) and rendered many unexploded devices safe during the war in Britain and North Africa.

George Cross

Goodman was the first person to defuse the Italian self-destructing torpedo which had beached itself east of Alexandria. He was assisted in this action by Petty Officer William Filer and painter Archibald John Russell, both of whom received the George Medal.

Notice of Goodman's George Cross appeared in the London Gazette on 15 September 1942, reading:[3]

Death

Goodman died when a booby-trap exploded in a house in Rotterdam, on 31 May 1945.[4]

Notes and References

  1. http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2635376 CWGC entry
  2. Web site: The George Cross at Sea, 1939–45 . Naval-history.net . 2014-08-14.
  3. http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/35706/supplements/4019/page.pdf London Gazette 15 September 1942
  4. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSvcid=257744&GRid=18483665& Find A Grave