Alfred Edmund Godsal DSO,

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

(1884 – 10 May 1918) was a British officer of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

who commanded in the

First Ostend Raid The First Ostend Raid (part of Operation ZO) was the first of two attacks by the Royal Navy on the German-held port of Ostend during the late spring of 1918 during the First World War. Ostend was attacked in conjunction with the neighbouring h ...

on 23 April 1918. In the early hours of 10 May 1918 he was killed in action commanding during the

Second Ostend Raid The Second Ostend Raid (officially known as Operation VS) was the later of two failed attempts made during the spring of 1918 by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy to block the channels leading to the Belgian port of Ostend as a part of its confl ...

. This event is marked each year in

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

as ''Vindictive Day''.

Early life and family

Godsal was born at Henbury House,

Sturminster Marshall Sturminster Marshall is a village and civil parish in east Dorset in England, situated on the River Stour between Blandford Forum and Poole. The parish had a population of 1,895 at the 2001 census, increasing to 1,969 at the 2011 Census and in ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

in 1884, the son of Philip Thomas Godsal, of Iscoyd Park,

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

, and Ellen Henrietta Parke. His mother's family were land owners in Sturminster Marshall. Two of Alfred Godsal's siblings, Major Walter Hugh Godsal DSO, MC of the

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and t ...

and Margaret Louisa Godsal, also died in the 15 months which preceded his own death. Godsal was a cousin of

Wilfred Parke Lieutenant Wilfred Parke RN (1889–1912) was a British aviator who was the first pilot to make an observed recovery from a spin. Family Parke was the son of Alfred Watlington Parke, the Rector of Uplyme, and Hilda Fort, and the grandson of Ch ...

an early naval aviator who was the first pilot to make an observed recovery from a

spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

and who was killed in 1912.

Career

After attending AJ de Winton's school in

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

, Alfred Godsal joined HMS ''Britannia'' Royal Naval College at Dartmouth in September 1899 as a naval cadet. Between 1901 and 1904, Godsal served as a midshipman, firstly aboard from January 1901, and then in , where he gained five first-class certificates in his exams prior to being commissioned as a sub-lieutenant. He then became a "Five Wonner", having the rare distinction of achieving first class passes in seamanship, navigation, gunnery, torpedoes, and signals. After short appointments, including , and he joined in 1907 to qualify as a specialist Torpedo Officer. This was followed by the advanced torpedo course which included wireless telegraphy. After several torpedo-related jobs, in 1910-12 he joined on the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 18 ...

. While there he was loaned for a time to the Yangtze River gunboat ''Kinsha'', including a brief period in command whilst awaiting the arrival of the new captain. HMS ''Kinsha'', previously known as SS ''Pioneer'' had belonged to

Samuel Cornell Plant Samuel Cornell Plant (8 August 1866 – 26 February 1921) was a British sailor who is best known as the first to command a merchant steamer plying on the Upper Yangtze River in 1900. The Upper Yangtze is the section of river stretching through g ...

but was requisitioned by the British navy during the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

. In 1912 Godsal was appointed as Torpedo Officer of in the

2nd Battle Squadron The 2nd Battle Squadron was a naval squadron of the British Royal Navy consisting of battleships. The 2nd Battle Squadron was initially part of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet. After World War I the Grand Fleet was reverted to its original name, t ...

which played a minor part in the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...

. He was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

in June 1917 and continued in that ship until volunteering for the "special operation" of Zeebrugge/Ostend. Alfred Godsal led the first attempt on Ostend whilst commanding and accompanied by . This was unsuccessful when both ships, unable to find the harbour entrance, ran aground and had to be abandoned. He was slightly wounded. With the apparently successful blocking of the Zeebrugge-Bruges canal, the Ostend canal became increasingly significant. Several officers, led by Godsal and his first lieutenant,

Victor Crutchley Admiral Sir Victor Alexander Charles Crutchley (2 November 1893 – 24 January 1986) was a British naval officer. He was a First World War recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be ...

, urged Admiral

Roger Keyes Admiral of the Fleet Roger John Brownlow Keyes, 1st Baron Keyes, (4 October 1872 – 26 December 1945) was a British naval officer. As a junior officer he served in a corvette operating from Zanzibar on slavery suppression missions. Ea ...

to allow a second attack. , the ship selected to block the canal entrance, was manned entirely by volunteers, mostly drawn from'HMS ''Brilliant'' and HMS ''Sirius''. Godsal was again in command and was killed in the attack.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Godsal, Alfred 1884 births 1918 deaths People from Dorset Royal Navy officers of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)