The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1220) Private Alfred Charles Gooda, 17th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Gerard Pratt, the story for this day was on (1220) Private Alfred Charles Gooda, 17th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

1220 Private Alfred Charles Gooda, 17th Battalion, AIF
KIA 3 May 1917, aged 23
Photograph: P09113.006

Story delivered 3 May 2017

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Alfred Charles Gooda.
Alfred Gooda was born in 1895 to John and Lydia Gooda of Inverell, New South Wales. He was the youngest of six children, and lost his mother when he was a young boy. Alfred attended the local public school and went on to work as a labourer for a Mr George in Otho Street, Tingha. He later worked on Wallangra Station, and was a well-known figure in Inverell, where he had many friends. Alfred Gooda was recognised as a first rate bushman and a crack rifle shot.

Alfred Gooda enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in April 1916. He went into camp in Armidale, and during his training was selected to serve in the trench mortars. He underwent specialist training at Menangle, and left Australia for active service overseas in October 1916. Private Gooda first went to England, where he continued his training through the winter, and then to France in mid-March 1917. Around this time he transferred from the trench mortars to the infantry, and served with the 17th Battalion.

Around the time Private Gooda joined the 17th Battalion, it was involved in the follow-up of the German forces after their retreat to the Hindenburg Line. Shortly afterwards the 17th Battalion helped defeat a
German counter-attack at Lagnicourt. Then, on 3 May 1917, the battalion participated in the Second Battle of Bullecourt, suffering heavy casualties.

A month later Alfred Gooda’s sister, Mrs Griffey, received word that her brother was officially reported missing from the date of that battle. The family were left with little information for months. The authorities conducted an investigation into the fate of Private Gooda, but they were not able to find details of his death. In the end, with no trace of Gooda as a prisoner of war in Germany, or in any hospital, a court of enquiry ruled that he had been killed in action on 3 May 1917 at the Second Battle of Bullecourt.

In the 1920s John Gooda chose an inscription for his youngest son’s grave. It read

In memory of his laughing eyes
And the smile upon his face
Are the constant vision memory brings
No-one can fill his place.

John Gooda’s words went unused, as Alfred’s body was never recovered. Today he is commemorated on the memorial to the missing at Villers-Bretonneux. Alfred Gooda was 23 years old.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among more than 60,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War. His photograph is displayed today beside the Pool of Reflection.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private Alfred Charles Gooda, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section