Tag: VERMELLES BRITISH CEMETERY

The Story of Edward Godden: A Royal Fusilier’s Journey

Private Edward William Godden, a gardener from Mersham, Kent, enlisted in October 1914 and served with the 8th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers. He was killed in action on 24 March 1916 during trench warfare near Vermelles, France. Buried in Vermelles British Cemetery, he is commemorated for his sacrifice in World War I.

Edward William Godden: A Detailed Biography

Private Edward William Godden, no. 7126, 8th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), was a gardener from Mersham, near Ashford, Kent, who enlisted in October 1914 and was killed in action in France on 24 March 1916. [1][2][3] He lies in Vermelles British Cemetery, Pas‑de‑Calais, and is commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. [1][4][5]

Early Life and Family

Edward William Godden was born in the East Ashford registration district in the December quarter of 1891 (volume 2A, page 773), the son of Alfred Godden and Jane (née Gower). [1] He was baptised at St John the Baptist, Mersham, Kent, on 1 November 1891, confirming the family’s residence in this rural parish just south‑east of Ashford. [1]

In the 1901 census Edward appears at The Street, Mersham, aged 9, described as a scholar and son in his parents’ household. [1] By 1911 he was still living in The Street, Mersham, aged 19, single, and working as a gardener, a typical occupation in a village environment where estate and domestic gardening provided regular employment. [1] Within the wider family tree he is recorded as a first cousin three times removed of the compiler, linking him closely to local Godden and Gower kin. [1]

Early Life and Family (Physical Description and Character)

Surviving enlistment data give a brief physical sketch of Edward. He was recorded as 5 feet 6½ inches tall, with grey eyes and brown hair, features typical of many men of his generation but made distinctive by the precise measurements preserved in recruitment registers. [1][6] The Surrey Recruitment Register, cited in external research on “G” surnames, confirms that “E. W. Godden” was born in Ashford, attested at Epsom on 21 October 1914 and joined the Royal Fusiliers, aligning exactly with the details in the individual report. [1][6]

Although no personal letters or anecdotes are quoted in the compiled material, this combination of village upbringing, gardening work and early voluntary enlistment suggests a man accustomed to physical labour and outdoor life, who responded promptly to the wartime call for recruits. [1][6]

Military Service

Edward enlisted at Epsom, Surrey, on 21 October 1914, joining the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) as a private, with the number G/7126 (often rendered simply as 7126). [1][6] He was posted to the 8th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, a New Army battalion raised in 1914 which became part of 36th Brigade in the 12th (Eastern) Division. [1][2][3]

The 12th (Eastern) Division assembled in England and moved to France in late May and early June 1915, taking over a sector of the line in the Loos area and gradually becoming involved in front‑line fighting. [1][2] The 8th Royal Fusiliers fought in the Battle of Loos in September 1915 and remained in the Loos–Vermelles–Hohenzollern Redoubt area over the winter of 1915–16, a sector characterised by mining, trench raids and frequent artillery and trench‑mortar bombardments. [4][2][3]

Military Service (Hohenzollern Redoubt and Vermelles)

In early 1916 the 12th (Eastern) Division was ordered to carry out operations against the Hohenzollern Redoubt, a strongly fortified German position near Loos. [4][5] On 2 March 1916 British tunnellers exploded a series of large mines under the German lines, and the 8th and 9th Battalions, Royal Fusiliers, led the assault into the crater field, capturing new and existing craters and sections of trench at heavy cost; the 8th Royal Fusiliers alone suffered some 254 casualties in that initial attack. [4][7][8]

Following this, the division continued to hold the line from the Quarries to Hohenzollern Redoubt throughout March, facing repeated German counter‑attacks, intense trench‑mortar fire and heavy shelling, particularly around the villages of Vermelles and the approaches back towards Annequin and Noyelles. [4][2][5] From 2 to 19 March the 12th Division sustained more than 3,000 casualties, and by the time it was relieved in late April total losses in the sector exceeded 4,000 men, underlining the severe attrition suffered by Edward’s battalion and brigade. [4][2]

Circumstances of Death

Edward’s date of death is recorded as 24 March 1916, with the theatre noted as France and Flanders and the cause as “Killed in action”. [1] At this date the 8th Royal Fusiliers and 36th Brigade were still holding trenches near Vermelles and in or around the crater fields created during the Hohenzollern Redoubt action, enduring continuous shelling and localised fighting even after the main assault period earlier in the month. [2][9][3]

A closely related narrative for another 8th Battalion casualty, Private Arthur Henry Noden, notes that the battalion was in the trenches near Vermelles in March 1916, suffering casualties from artillery and sniper fire rather than from major set‑piece attacks. [9] Given Edward’s burial at Vermelles British Cemetery and the timing of his death shortly after the main Hohenzollern operations, it is likely that he was killed either by shellfire or during routine but dangerous trench‑holding duties in that sector, part of the persistent day‑to‑day toll of front‑line service. [1][4][2]

Burial and Commemoration

Unlike many of his comrades on the Western Front, Edward has an identified grave. He is buried at Vermelles British Cemetery, Pas‑de‑Calais, in plot II, row N, grave 23. [1] The Commonwealth War Graves Commission entry records him as “GODDEN, E. W., Private, 7126, 8th Bn., Royal Fusiliers, who died on 24 March 1916, son of Alfred and Jane Godden, of 12, Mersham St., Ashford, Kent.” [1][5]

The cemetery, established near the front‑line positions held by the 12th (Eastern) Division and others, contains many burials from the Loos and Hohenzollern sectors of early 1916, and Edward’s grave stands among those of fellow infantrymen and support troops who fell in the same period. [4][5] A Find a Grave memorial (ID 56589100) reproduces his CWGC details and locates his grave within Vermelles British Cemetery, providing an online point of reference for relatives and researchers unable to visit the site in person. [1]

Legacy

His place of origin – Mersham Street, Ashford – remains a key part of local remembrance in Kent. [1][6] His service with the 8th Royal Fusiliers links him not only to the history of that famous City of London regiment but also to the specific story of the 12th (Eastern) Division’s costly operations at the Hohenzollern Redoubt in March 1916. [1][4][3]

Modern regimental and historical summaries of the Royal Fusiliers note the role of the 8th Battalion within 36th Brigade, 12th Division, and its participation in Loos‑sector operations, ensuring that the actions in which Edward fought and died remain part of the wider narrative of the Great War on the Western Front. [2][3][8] Through his named grave at Vermelles, his CWGC record, and digital memorials, Private Edward William Godden is remembered today as one of the many young Kent men whose lives were given in the grinding trench warfare of 1916, months before the Somme battles shifted the British focus further south. [1][4][2]

Key External Links

Sources
[1] Individual-Report-for-Edward-William-Godden.pdf
[2] 12th (Eastern) Division – The Long, Long Trail https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/order-of-battle-of-divisions/12th-eastern-division/
[3] Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) – Vickers MG Collection … https://vickersmg.blog/in-use/british-service/the-british-army/royal-fusiliers-city-of-london-regiment/
[4] Hohenzollern Redoubt action, 2–18 March 1916 – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hohenzollern_Redoubt_action,_2%E2%80%9318_March_1916
[5] Hohenzollern Redoubt – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hohenzollern_Redoubt
[6] War Memorials – WW1 – Surnames G https://eehe.org.uk/40914/warmemorialssurnamesg/
[7] Hohenzollern Redoubt Facts for Kids https://kids.kiddle.co/Hohenzollern_Redoubt
[8] 3 British underground mines explode under German trenches. Early … https://www.reddit.com/r/ww1/comments/132hg6g/3_british_underground_mines_explode_under_german/
[9] Pvt Arthur Henry Noden (1894-1916) – Find a Grave Memorial https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56589748/arthur_henry-noden
[10] Officers 8th Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers http://www.dublin-fusiliers.com/battaliions/8-batt/personnel/officers/officers-8-bn.html
[11] Men of the Northumberland Fusiliers in St Eloi, France, March 1916 … https://www.facebook.com/veteransfoundation/posts/men-of-the-northumberland-fusiliers-in-st-eloi-france-march-1916-we-will-remembe/1067739755383993/
[12] Lancashire Fusiliers – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancashire_Fusiliers
[13] How-to Blog Post Template https://www.kbspas.com/brl/8th-battalion-leicestershire-regiment-1916
[14] Casualty Details https://www.fadedgenes.co.uk/CWGC_Frederick_Godden.pdf
[15] Royal Dublin Fusiliers 8th Battalion – Great War Forum https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/148751-royal-dublin-fusiliers-8th-battalion/
[16] (E ROYAL FUSILIERS http://agiusww1.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/The-Royal-Fusiliers-in-the-Great-War-H-C-ONeill.pdf
[17] Noor’s Royal Dublin Fusiliers humble collection – Page 3 https://www.omsa.org/forums/topic/noors-royal-dublin-fusiliers-humble-collection/page/3/
[18] Obits https://glosters.tripod.com/regobitsp.htm
[19] London Regiment – The Long, Long Trail https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/london-regiment/
[20] The 23rd (Service) Battalion Royal Fusiliers (First Sportsman’s) A … http://www.gutenberg.lib.md.us/2/0/3/7/20377/20377-8.txt
[21] 8th Btn Royal Fusiliers – WD Missing? https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/316361-8th-btn-royal-fusiliers-wd-missing/