Rank:
Private
Service No(s):
60898
Regiment:
Royal Army Medical Corps
Unit:
7th Training Battalion
Returned:
No
Place of birth:
Islington - Middlesex
Occupation:
Fly Finisher Assistant at a Pianoforte Makers
Date of death:
23/10/1918
Cause of death:
Died at home
Grave or panel reference:
Z 16406
Name of father:
Alfred
Name of siblings:
Alfred Nelson J, William, Tabitha, Albert, Emmie E, Frederick James, Florence Grace, Edith Lilian, Stanley A.
Name(s) of children:
Died:
Yes
Date of birth:
27/02/1896
Place of enlistment:
London
Event:
Home
Age at death:
22
Cemetery or memorial:
Islington Cemetery And Crematorium, Middlesex, United Kingdom
Other memorial:
Royal Northern Hospital Arch
Name of mother:
Mary Jane
Name of spouse:
Address:
30 Lennox Way, Finsbury Park, London
Biography:
George Harold Godfrey was born on 27th February 1896 when the family resided in 11 Atherton Road, Islington and was baptised on January 1st 1897 in the parish of St Anne in Tollington Park. He was the 5th oldest sibling in a family of 10 children. His parents were Alfred and Mary Jane and in 1911 they lived at 30 Lennox Way, Finsbury Park. At this time, George was 15 years old and worked as a Fly Finisher Assistant in a Pianoforte Makers. He would have been responsible for placing in position the movable parts of a piano. There were several piano makers in the area whom George could have worked for: Harold & Denson Ltd on Oxford Road; Thomas W Harper on Hornsey Road; and Francis Edward Harrold on Holloway Road.
George enlisted for war duty in London and joined the Royal Army Medical Corps as part of the 7th Training Battalion unit. His older brothers Alfred and Albert also enlisted for war duty. Alfred was in the Grenadier Guards and Albert was in the East London Regiment.
George died aged 22 years old at home on 23rd October 1918, less than a month before the end of the First World War. The Royal Army Medical Corps war dairies at this time, during the Spanish Flu epidemic, show there were “a large number of influenza cases among divisional troops arriving”.
After his death, George was awarded the Victory Medal. Eligibility for this award consisted of having been mobilised, fighting, having served in any of the theatres of operations between midnight 4th/5th August 1914, and midnight, 11/12 November 1918. George was also awarded the British War Medal for services between 5th August and 11th November 1918.
Alfred and Mary Jane Godfrey would have been sent a Memorial Death Plaque after the war to commemorate George. They would have already received two of these plaques for their elder sons Alfred Nelson John and Albert who also died in service during the First World War.
Private George H Godfrey is buried in Islington Cemetery and Crematorium.
He is remembered on three Islington memorials: Royal Northern Hospital Arch, Islington Cemetery War Memorial and St Mellitus War Memorial.