Cecil Godfrey
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
Cecil Godfrey was born in 1898 at Blidworth and was the son of Joseph a farm labourer and the late Annie Godfrey née Timmons of Blidworth . His father Joseph was born in 1867 at Blidworth , his mother Annie Timons was born in 1878 also at Blidworth, she died in 1906 aged 28 yrs, they were married in 1896 their marriage was recorded in the Mansfield Registration district, they went on to have the folowing children, Matilda b1895, Cecil b1898, William b1900, John b1902 , Alfred b1903 and Florence Jane b1906 all were born at Blidworth In the 1911 census the family are living at Blidworth and are shown as Joseph 49 yrs a widow and a farm labourer, he is living with his children, Cecil 13 yrs a scholar, William 11 yrs a scholar, John 9 yrs a scholar and Alfred 8 yrs of age.
Private Cecil Godfrey, enlisted at Derby whilst residing at Mansfield into the Sherwood Foresters Regiment in September 1916. He was posted overseas to the 1st Battalion. The weather prior to the attack had been dull, cloudy, with mist and rain. At 3.50 a.m., on 31st the battalion attacked through Hooge to towards Westhoek Ridge. The ground was not easy, with marshy areas and clumps of trees, along with German concrete strong points. Despite this the battalion made good progress and within an hour had moved into and cleared Hooge, Chateau Wood and established themselves in an enemy support trench on the slopes of Bellewaarde Ridge. An enemy strong point near Westhoek was then attacked and taken along with some 40 prisoners. The battalion established a line on the crest of Westhoek Ridge, giving excellent views of the enemy positions before taking Westhoek Viillage. Once the Germans had recovered they shelled the troops and made counter attacks but failed to regain ground. It then began to rain heavily and by evening the battlefield was a morass making further attacks impossible. Cecil was one of some 80 men killed during the day and he has no known grave. He is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial. John Morse
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