Richard Hartley Godwin

Memorial: South Gloucestershire war dead not on a local memorial

Regiment: Coldstream Guards

Medals: 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Silver War Badge, Victory Medal

Rank and number: Private 20311

Parents: Mother Henrietta Godwin, adoptive parents Robert and Rhoda Palmer

Home address: 216 Two Mile Hill, Kingswood, Bristol

Pre-war occupation: Bootmaker

Date of birth: 1898

Place of birth: Kingswood, Bristol

Date of death: 14/04/1918

Buried/Commemorated at: Buried at Merville Communal Cemetery Extension, Nord, France. Not commemorated on a local memorial

Age: 19

Further information:

Richard Godwin (otherwise known as Dick Palmer) was born in Kingswood to a single parent, Henrietta, who gave her address on his Baptismal record as Filwood House, Pin Factory Lane, Kingswood. It is therefore possible that Richard’s mother was in service there. In 1901 at the age of 2 Richard was being cared for by the Palmer family who later adopted him. After his adoptive parents’ death, he lived in the family home with his married sister Sarah Ann White.

Richard enlisted in 3rd Battalion, Coldstream Guards in 1916 and went to France in March 1917. He died during the Battle of Hazebrouck (12–15 April) which was one of the Battles of the Lys (7 – 29 April 1918) The Lys was an allied victory but at the cost of 119,000 casualties.

By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):

This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/
Kingswood Heritage Museum