Order and Medals - Lt Col G.A. Godley, CBE - SANLC

[sabrigade]

THE MOST EXCELLENT ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE COMMANDER (CBE),BRITISH WAR MEDAL 1914 -20, VICTORY MEDAL

Archie Godley was born on 13 October 1871. He was part of a family with strong military conditions. He attended Wellington College but had to seek employment after his father's death in 1889. He moved to Sumatra in the Dutch East Indies and worked on a coffee plantation. This was followed by a move to Siam where Archie was involved in railway construction. In 1893, Godley joined the Cape Mounted Rifles.

After being discharged for being medically unfit in 1895, Godley joined the Natal Civil Service. In 1901, he became an assistant to Sir Godfrey Lagden the Commissioner for Native Affairs in the Transvaal. By 1912, Godley was the Chief Clerk in the Union Government Native Affairs Department.

In September 1916, Archie was commissioned in the SANLC as a Lieutenant Colonel and he duly arrived in France in 1917.

His work with the SANLC was mainly concerned with Headquarters activities. When the SANLC were disbanded, Archie was released from his military service in April 1918 and he returned to the Civil Service. He was awarded the CBE for his services in the SANLC and the decoration was gazetted on 27 June 1919.

[sabrigade]

WW1 CAMPAIGN MEDALS AWARDED TO LT COL GODLEY

[sabrigade]

Lt Col Godley

[Guest Rick Research]

:Cat-Scratch: Was it common to commission an "instant" field grade officer like this who had never gone up all the lower ranks?

I thought that was a peculiarity of the old American forces whistling up mass wartime armies out of miniscule cadre personnel.

[sabrigade]

My opinion, based on the fact that Officers of the SANLC were selected and appointed on their previous experience of working with so-called natives, is that this was the major factor in his appointment and his position in the SANLC. Probably there was very little difference between his military position in the SANLC and civilian appointment in the Public or Civil Service.

All Battalion Commanders in the 1st South African Infantry Brigade were regular combat officers who were specifically selected to lead their battalions in battle on the Western Front.

Godley's position was an administrative one and he was used to plan policies and directives for the SANLC.

His brother was Major General Aleck Godley so this may have also played a part but I am not convinced that it did.

He had married into the Shepstone family which was a very prominent family in the South African civil service and his father-in-law was the Chief Native Commisioner for Natal at the time so he did have an obvious amount of support during his military service and appointment.

[Guest Rick Research]

Ah yes, "connections." I was also surprised by the CBE-- I thought British Empires were awarded by rank of the recipient, and would have expected an OBE for a Lieutenant Colonel, while a Brigadier would have been in line for a CBE?

This one seems a bit similar, in that he was an up from the ranks Lt.Col. but ended up as a "civil" (though uniformed!!!) CBE--

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=706&hl=Winward

The distinction between his military status and civil position "skipped" a grade?

[sabrigade]

His other brother was a South African Police lieutenant colonel who strangely enough was awarded the OBE in the same gazette that confirmed Archie's CBE award.

[TacHel]

What did the CBE citation say? For a civilian given a uniform and high rank (too bloody high) for a few years at a desk job to receive a CBE is unreal!?! He's a major on the picture which means in the little time he was in uniform he even managed a promotion!

Senior officers without a service medal (LSGC) give me the runs! (I don't mean in past history, I mean today!)

[sabrigade]

A great amount of research was done by a previous collector who owned the group.

In a write up he states:

" On 27 June 1919 the London Gazette published Archie's award of the Commander of the British Empire for service in recruiting the SANLC "

Godley was well known to both Genls Louis Botha and Jan Smuts because of the work he did and the circles both he and his family moved in.

[Chris Boonzaier]

Was it common to commission an "instant" field grade officer like this who had never gone up all the lower ranks?

I thought that was a peculiarity of the old American forces whistling up mass wartime armies out of miniscule cadre personnel.

In WW1 South Africa anything was possible, simply because the army, and its general staff were just a couple of years old. In 1914 some of the cream of the army went into rebellion and added to that, volunteering to take up the fight against germany were Boers who had been officers and men fighting against the Brits 14 years earlier. Some officers served for a year and had a DSO at the end of it...

A prime example are these 2 groups...

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=3093&hl=cloete

The DSO is to a man who wore british uniform for a year or two. The DCM is to one who was regular Union Defence Force...

The Following quote from 1916 seems to be very funny... (it is from something I am transcribing...)

"I am a brigadier General in the Union Defence Force. I have been in the Government Service for some years. In 1914 I was in the department of Agriculture, holding the position of Chief of the Sheep Division. "

but in fact the man had been an officer in the boer forces during the Boer War and had volunteered for WW1 service, starting as a Colonel.

Best

Chris

[sabrigade]

Hi Chris,

Very well stated.

This factor was applied in many instances in the more specialised type of units or musterings.

Another good example was the appointment of Lt Col F. R. Collins to command the South African Railway Companies and Miscellaneous Trades Company in France. A few days before he was a mechanical superintendent in the South African Railways!

In my collection I have the medals of the RSM of the Miscellaneous Trades Company who joined up as Private and was appointed as the Regimental Sargeant Major the following day. In his favour, he was a survivor of B Battery at Maiwand in Afghanistan and was also a Boer War veteran. He ended his WW1 service with a Meritorious Service Medal.

Regards,

Will

Edited June 24, 2009 by sabrigade

[bobtom]

That's pretty good.

pret personnel

[Mervyn Mitton]

From what has been said , it appears that the tradition of appointing 'civilians' to senior military and police ranks, is of long standing. Certainly, the last two Governments - the Nationalists and followed by the ANC - have made a habit of appointing people and granting them a rank commensurate with what they may have achieved at that age !! The perfect example is our present Commissioner of Police for the S.A.N.P.S. - he was appointed as Commissioner from a civilian - and with no police experience - and is presently suspended awaiting trial of attempted murder, fraud and a whole host of other charges. They can't appoint a re-placement until the trial is over...

[oamotme]

My late grandfather, John Edward Arnold Evans, was a banker in British East Africa with Barclays DCO throughout WW2 and at some stage was apparently appointed as a "Financial Advisor" to the Britsih Miliitary - he was to receive a military rank (Maj./Lt.Col.?) but this was decided to be inappropriate on the basis that whatever rank he held he could be overruled by a senior officer and thus he remained a civilian. He received no awards.

Owain

Edited June 30, 2009 by oamotme