East Grinstead

Sidney Godley was the first Private to be awarded the Victoria Cross in the First World War.

Early life

Sidney Frank Godley (1889-1957) was born at North End Imberhorne Lane), East Grinstead, West Sussex. His family had lived in the East Grinstead and Felbridge area for generations; the Godleys can be traced back to East Grinstead in the 1700s. Following his mother’s death in 1896 he was sent to live with his uncle and aunt in Willesden, North London. (Interestingly, this district was one of the fastest developing parts of London in this period.) His father remarried in 1899 and by the time of the 1901 Census, Godley was staying with his family again, this time in Bromley, Kent.
Godley left school at fourteen and worked at an ironmonger’s in Kilburn for a few years, then in 1909 he joined the Royal Fusiliers.

Mons, Belgium 1914

On 23 August 1914 the Royal Fusiliers received the order to hold two bridges over the Mons-Condé Canal, Belgium. This would allow the other units to retreat to the River Marne. Pte Sidney Godley was in the section defending Nimy Railway Bridge.

The Royal Fusiliers only had two machine-guns against six divisions of the German army.

Eventually, the commanding officer, Lt. Steele, decided that his men would have to retreat. Before they left, Steele asked for two volunteers to man the machine-guns. Godley and Maurice Dease offered to do what appeared to be a suicidal task. Godley had to remove three bodies before he could get to his machine-gun. Within a few minutes of taking over the gun, Dease was killed. A shell exploded by the side of Godley and a piece of shrapnel entered his back. Although in terrible pain he continued firing at the Germans trying to cross the bridge. A bullet hit him in the head and lodged in his skull. Godley’s single-handed defence of the bridge for two hours gave the men enough time to retreat. When the ammunition ran out he dismantled his gun and threw it into the canal.

Some assumed that he had died, but he had instead been taken prisoner and sent to a field hospital. Following further medical treatment he was sent to the German Prisoner of War camp at Doberitz, and remained there until 1918.

News of Godley’s bravery soon reached Britain. When King George V heard about what had happened he decided to award him the highest military medal available to a British soldier, the Victoria Cross.

Sidney Godley died on 29th June 1957 and is buried at Loughton Cemetery. In 1976 a new housing estate in Bexley was named after Godley. So also was a housing block in Tower Hamlets in 1992.

Artist impression of Private Sidney Godley at Nimy Bridge

Lt-Col McMahon’s account of Private Godley’s action at Nimy Bridge. (23rd August, 1914)

On 23 August, 1914 at Mons, Belgium, Private Godley took over a machine-gun on Nimy Bridge when the lieutenant in charge of the section had been mortally wounded. Private Godley held the enemy from the bridge single-handed for two hours under very heavy fire and was wounded twice. His gallant action covered the retreat of his comrades, but he was eventually taken prisoner. His final act was to destroy the gun and throw the pieces into the canal.

Sidney Godley interviewed on BBC Radio in 1954.

The Germans came over in mass formation and we opened fire… We carried on until towards evening when the order was given for the line to retire. I was then asked by Lieut. Steele to remain and hold the position while the retirement took place, which I did do, although I was very badly wounded several times, but I managed to carry on. I remained on the bridge and held the position, but when it was time for me to get away I smashed the machine gun up, and threw it in the Canal.