Charles Augustus Goodfellow

Charles Augustus Goodfellow
Born	29 November 1836 Essex
Died	1 September 1915 (aged 78) Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
Buried	Royal Leamington Spa Cemetery
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Bengal Army British Army
Rank	Lieutenant General
Unit	Bombay Engineers Royal Engineers
Battles/wars	Indian Mutiny Abyssinian War
Awards	Victoria Cross Order of the Bath

Lieutenant General Charles Augustus Goodfellow VC CB (29 November 1836 – 1 September 1915) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Details

He was 22 years old, and a lieutenant in the Bombay Engineers, Bengal Army during the Indian Mutiny when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC:

For gallant conduct at the attack on the Fort of Beyt, on the 6th of October, 1859. On that occasion, a soldier of the 28th Regiment was shot under the .walls of the Fort. Lieutenant Goodfellow rushed, under the walls, under a sharp fire of matchlocks, and bore off the body of the soldier, who was then dead, but whom he at first supposed to be wounded only.^[1]

Further information

He later transferred to the Royal Engineers serving in the Abyssinian War where he was mentioned in dispatches as follows:

Captain Goodfellow, next in seniority, whose services at Zoulla in constructing the pier have already been noticed, was the chief engineer on the highlands, and displayed great intelligence and activity in every duty throughout the operations.^[2]

Goodfellow achieved the rank of lieutenant general.

The medal

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Engineers Museum, Gillingham, England.

References

• Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
• The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
• The Sapper VCs (Gerald Napier, 1998)

External links

• Royal Engineers Museum Sappers VCs
• Location of grave and VC medal (Warwickshire)