Roger Philip Goad, (5 August 1935 – 29 August 1975) was an explosives officer with

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Metropolitan Police Service The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

who was posthumously awarded the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been ...

for the heroism he displayed on 29 August 1975. He had previously been awarded the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to ...

in 1958 for gallantry whilst serving with the

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equip ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

, for repeated acts of deliberate courage in the disarming of bombs and booby traps set by terrorists.

Early life

Goad was born in

Jutogh Jutogh is a cantonment board in Shimla district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The Jutogh cantonment was established in 1843 Cantonment Board. Jutogh is a statutory body constituted under the Cantonments Act, 2006. The emergence of th ...

, India. He was the son of Ronald William Goad and Daisy Bertha Goad (née Martin). Ronald Goad was a

staff sergeant Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, supervi ...

in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

Army career

Goad enlisted in the

and worked his way up the ranks. He was a

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

at the time he received the

in February 1958; and a

warrant officer class 2 Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the most ...

when he received a commission as

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in February 1968. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

two years later, and retired from the army in August 1974. He then became an explosives officer with the Metropolitan Police.

George Cross

On the night of 29 August 1975, Joseph O'Connell and Eddie Butler, members of the IRA's

Balcombe Street Gang The Balcombe Street Gang was a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) active service unit (ASU) (also known as the Balcombe Street Four or the Balcombe Street Unit) who carried out a bombing campaign in southern England in the mid-1970s. The ...

placed a bomb in the doorway of a shoe shop in

Kensington Church Street Kensington Church Street is a shopping street in Kensington, London, England, designated the A4204, and traditionally known for its art and antiques shops. Buildings at the southern end date back to the early 1700s. It is named after Kensington ...

in London. The Balcombe Street Gang was responsible for the 1974–1975 terror campaign in London which included the

Guildford pub bombings The Guildford pub bombings occurred on 5 October 1974 when the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonated two gelignite bombs at two pubs in Guildford, Surrey, England. The pubs were targeted because they were popular with British Army p ...

, the

London Hilton bombing On 5 September 1975 a bomb exploded in the lobby of the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane, London, killing two people and injuring 63. Bombing Ten minutes before the explosion, the ''Daily Mail'' newspaper received a warning by telephone. Having bee ...

& the

Woolwich pub bombing The Woolwich pub bombing was an attack by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in Woolwich, a district of London in the United Kingdom, as part of The Troubles. Echoing similar attacks in Guildford the previous month, a bomb made of 6 lb o ...

among many others. Following a telephone tip-off,

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

s discovered the device. Goad was the senior

bomb disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous Explosive device, explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functi ...

expert on the scene. Goad attempted to defuse the bomb but it exploded, killing him instantly. It is unknown whether the bomb was detonated by its timer, or whether Goad triggered the bomb's

anti-handling device An anti-handling device is an attachment to or an integral part of a landmine or other munition such as some fuze types found in general-purpose air-dropped bombs, cluster bombs and sea mines. It is designed to prevent tampering or disabling, o ...

He was a 40-year-old married man with two children. His citation was published in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

'' of 1 October 1976. The four members of the IRA unit were captured four months later at the conclusion of the

Balcombe Street siege The Balcombe Street siege was an incident involving members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and London's Metropolitan Police lasting from 6 to 12 December 1975. The siege ended with the surrender of the four IRA members and the r ...

. After being convicted of a number of murders, the four were imprisoned for life, receiving a

whole life tariff In England and Wales, life imprisonment is a sentence that lasts until the death of the prisoner, although in most cases the prisoner will be eligible for early release after a minimum term set by the judge. In exceptional cases, however, a ju ...

. They were released in 1999 as part of the

Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...

.1975: Balcombe Street siege ends
BBC News "On this day": 12 December 1975

References

1935 births 1975 deaths Bomb disposal personnel British military personnel of the Cyprus Emergency British military personnel of The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Metropolitan Police officers killed in the line of duty British recipients of the George Cross British terrorism victims Deaths by improvised explosive device in England Male murder victims Metropolitan Police officers People killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army Recipients of the British Empire Medal Royal Army Ordnance Corps officers Terrorism deaths in England People from Shimla district People murdered in London Royal Army Ordnance Corps soldiers {{UK-law-enforcement-bio-stub

Early life

Army career

George Cross

See also

References