Ancestor Details

Name of Ancestor: John Ephraim Goodwin

Ancestor's date of birth: 12/07/1875

Ancestor's date of death: 19/07/1949

Cause of Death: Age related

Service and Life Before the Boer War: Detail not provided

Service Number: 254 and 1121

Colony or State of enlistment: VIC, Place of Enlistment: Stawell

Unit: 2^nd Victorian Mounted Rifles

Rank attained in Boer War: LSGT, Date Effective: 1901

Highest Rank attained (if served after war): SSGT, Date Effective: 01/10/1918

Murray Page: 237 and 290

Contingent: Second and Fifth Victorian

Ship: Euryalus, Date of Sailing: 13/01/1900

Ship: Orient, Argus or City of London, Date of Sailing: 15/02/1901

Other Boer War Service: 5^th Victorian Mounted Rifles.

Memorial details: Victorian Mounted Rifles Memorial Melbourne.

Awards/Decorations/Commendations: Queen's South Africa Medal with 3 clasps, King's South Africa Medal with SA 1901 and SA 1902 clasps. British War Medal, Victory Medal.

Personal Characteristics: Height 185 cm, weight 73 kg, fair complexion, red hair, greyish brown eyes.

Reasons to go and fight: Detail not provided

Details of service in war: February - August 1900 with 2 VMR in northern Cape Colony, Free State, east Transvaal then west Transvaal. May have been wounded at Doornkop 7-17 August 1900 or 24 August 1900 at Bester's Farm see Murray Page 232 middle of the second papagraph. Invalided, Australia, arriving 6 September 1900. March 1901 - March 1902 with 5 VMR in east Transvaal and Natal frontier, including defeat at Wilmansrust where 18 killed and 42 wounded (12 June 1901), and successful intervention at Onverwacht (4 January 1902); heaviest casualties of any Australian contingent, at Wilmansrust suffered the costliest defeat with.

Service and life after the Boer War: Was a miner. Enlisted in the AIF 10 November 1915, served in France in the 3^rd Tunnelling Company. Did a course in cabinetmaking. Demobilised 10 March 1919. Married Bertha Braquart 7 July 1919.

Descendant Details

Name of Descendant: Marguerite Andrews, Indooroopilly QLD
Relationship to Ancestor: Great uncle, brother to my grandfather George Taylor Goodwin who is also registered on the Boer War Database.

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