Roland William Henry Goddard

Born 9 Jun 1885 - Died 25 Aug 1918

Service number: WWI 63137 AWMM
Also known as: Mick
Public - AWMM - Researcher - 6 December 2015 - Auckland Weekly News
Armed force / branch: Army AWMM
Last rank: WW1 Private AWMM Otago Infantry Regiment, New Zealand Trench Mortar Battery AWMM
War: World War I, 1914-1918 AWMM

Enquire

Lay a poppy

Roland William Henry Goddard — Nominal Roll Vol 3 (Roll 75), Page: 16 - No known copyright restrictions No Known Copyright Restrictions

Show empty fields Hide sources

Biographical information

Roland Goddard was the son of Frederick and Emma Goddard, of Motueka, New Zealand; husband of Elizabeth Goddard, of Tasman, Nelson. AWMM
Roland William Henry Goddard, called Mick in the family was living in Blenheim and working as a labourer. He was also a member of the “The 12th Nelson Regiment”, up until he later joined the NZ Army.
Mick applied to join the NZ Army in April 1916 for the 23rd reinforcements (in Blenheim) but was rejected on medical grounds for 3 months, as he had previously had rheumatic fever.
He again attempted to join the Army again on 24 July 1917 (for the 32nd reinforcements) and was successful. Standing 5 feet 9 and half inches tall with a dark complexion, brown eyes and light brown hair. Mick entered Trentham Camp on the 20th of August 1917 where he began training with the 31st and 32nd Reinforcements.
He embarked for England on 22 Nov. 1917 and arrived in Liverpool on 7 Jan. 1918 and was sent to the Sling Camp. On the 20th of March he proceeded to France where he entered Etaples Camp for further training. From there he was sent to the frontline and joined the 2nd NZ Entrenching Battalion on the 28th of March. Essentially a Labour force, this unit was full of new reinforcements and previously sick or wounded men returning to duty. During this time (March and April 1918) they were thrust into the German Spring Offensive and were used as Infantry at times. Before long, Mick was posted to his new unit 10th Company 1st Otago Battalion on the 14th of April.
On the 3rd of July 1918, he was detached to duty with the 2nd NZ light trench mortar battery and saw action during the Rossignol Wood fighting. The Otago Battalion was heavily involved with scouting and raiding of the German positions, and the New Zealanders so harassed their opponents that the Germans eventually abandoned Rossignol Wood.
In contrast to the relatively static trench-based stalemate that characterised the Western Front for most of the First World War, by mid-1918 the tide had turned in favour of the Allied armies and open warfare ensued over swathes of the French countryside. The position of the front line shifting rapidly eastwards in August-September 1918 during one of the New Zealand Division’s final offensives of the war, the Battle of Bapaume.
From July 1918, the overstretched German army faced renewed attacks from the British, French, Belgian and American allies along the Western Front. On 21 August the British Third Army (with the New Zealand Division as part of its IV Corps) launched an attack north of the previous battlefield, intending to drive the Germans back towards the town of Bapaume. This ground was chosen as it was less torn-up by years of shelling, and thus better suited to mobile attacks with armoured support.
The New Zealand Division supported the right flank of the main attack in the first few days of the battle, but from 24 August it took a lead role. In a single day the New Zealanders captured the town of Grévillers, Loupart Wood and the village of Biefvillers. The following day they began to surround the town of Bapaume, where several major roads intersected. The German defenders resisted the siege until the night of 28 August, when they retreated to positions just east of Bancourt and Frémicourt. The New Zealanders entered Bapaume next day and continued to push the front-line further east across largely abandoned terrain until they halted east of Bertincourt to regroup.
By early September the British First, Third and Fourth armies had pushed the Germans back to the Hindenburg Line east of Bapaume, the area from which they had launched their Spring Offensive in March.
Mick was wounded in action during the Battle of Bapaume from gunshot wounds to the head, back and chest on the 24 Aug 1918 and died from his wounds the following day 25 Aug 1918. He was 23 years old and left a wife Elizabeth and daughter Joan.
He is buried in the Bagneux British Cemetery Gezaincourt, France, Grave Reference: VI. C. 31.
Public - Malcolm - Other relative - 23 April 2025 - NEW ZEALAND DEFENCE FORCE PERSONNEL RECORDS
PRESERVED BY ARCHIVES NEW ZEALAND
Record Title: Roland William Henry Goddard; 63137

The development of the Online Cenotaph is an ongoing process; updates, new images and records are added weekly. In some cases, records have yet to be confirmed by Museum staff, and there could be mistakes or omissions in the information provided.

Online Cenotaph Data by Auckland War Memorial Museum is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Roland William Henry Goddard

Roland William Henry Goddard

Identity

About

Images and documents

Images

Documents

Civilian life

About birth

Service

Wars and conflicts

Military decorations

Training and Enlistment

Embarkations

Prisoner of war

Medical history

Last known rank

Biographical information

Biographical information

Death

About death

Memorials

Memorial

Sources

Sources