Lieutenant General Sir Richard Elton Goodwin, KCB, CBE, DSO (17 August 1908 – 28 October 1986) was a senior British Army officer. He served in the Second World War as Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment during the campaign in Northwest Europe from June 1944 until May 1945, and later reached high office in the 1960s.
Lieutenant General Sir Richard Goodwin | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | "Dick" |
| Born | 17 August 1908[1] Woolwich, London[2] |
| Died | 28 October 1986 (aged 78)[3] Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1928–1969 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Service number | 40616 |
| Unit | Suffolk Regiment |
| Commands | I Corps (1963–66) East Africa Command (1960–63) 49th (North Midlands and West Riding) Division (1957–60) 6th Infantry Brigade (1957) 214th Infantry Brigade (1945) 1st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment (1943–45) |
| Battles / wars | Second World War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order |
Military career
editGoodwin joined the British Army was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Suffolk Regiment in 1928.[4] He was promoted to lieutenant on 30 August 1931.[5] He served in India and became aide-de-camp to the Governor of Madras in 1935.[4]
Goodwin served in the Second World War. He was second-in-command of the 9th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment from 1942, and then Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment from 1943.[4]
After the war, Goodwin commanded the 214th Infantry Brigade in 1945 and then went to the Staff College, Camberley in 1946.[4] He became a college commander at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1947 and a Colonel on the General Staff at General Headquarters Far East Land Forces in 1949.[4]
Goodwin was appointed Commandant at the School of Infantry in 1951 and commander of 6th Infantry Brigade within the British Army of the Rhine in 1954.[4] He went on to be General Officer Commanding (GOC) 49th (North Midlands and West Riding) Division and North Midland District of the Territorial Army in 1957 and GOC East Africa Command in 1960.[4] In this capacity he accelerated the commissioning of African officers.[6] He was appointed GOC 1st (British) Corps within the British Army of the Rhine in 1963 and Military Secretary in 1966; he retired in 1969.[4][7]
References
edit- ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007
- ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837–1915
- ^ "Deaths". The Times. 31 October 1986. p. 1.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Goodwin, Richard". Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives. Archived from the original on 21 September 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ^ "No. 33755". The London Gazette. 22 September 1931. p. 6107.
- ^ Parsons, Timothy (2003). The 1964 army mutinies and the making of modern East Africa. Greenwood. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-325-07068-1.
- ^ "Goodwin, Richard Elton". Generals.dk. Retrieved 16 June 2020.