Source: Michael Doyle Their Name Liveth For Evermore: The Great War Roll of Honour for Leicestershire and Rutland.
He was the son of John James Goodburn, a Midland Railway Company carpenter, born 1858 in Brentingby, Leicestershire and his wife Mary Goodburn (nee Atton, married in the 3rd quarter of 1881 in the Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire district), born 15th August 1858 in Braunston, Rutland. John James, an errand boy, was born 26th October 1886 in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, his siblings were, Emily, a wool trade weaver, born 1883, William, a fish shop assistant, born 1884, Thomas, born 1889, Arthur, born 1891, George Henry, born 1894, Joseph Edgar, born 21st September 1894 and Eva Emma, born 3rd December 1897, all his siblings were born in Melton Mowbray, in March 1901 the family home was at 7, Mill Street, Melton Mowbray. In April 1911 John was absent from the family home at 33, Mill Street, Melton Mowbray, residing there was his father, a Midland Railway Company carpenter, his mother and siblings, Arthur, a farm cowman, George, a shoe maker’s apprentice, Joseph, a domestic gardener and Eva, a schoolgirl, John was serving as a Private with the 2nd Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment and was stationed in Floriana Barracks, Malta. John also had an older brother, Alfred, born in the 3rd quarter of 1885 in Melton Mowbray and who fell in action on the 26th August 1918. In 1939 John’s widowed mother was residing together with his widowed sister in law Eliza Goodburn at 65, Mill Street, Melton Mowbray. John first entered the theatre of war on the 6th November 1914, he was awarded the 1914 Star, British War and Victory medals.
John was the nephew of William James Cox of Melton Mowbray. He was educated at the British School in Melton Mowbray, and enlisted in the army in 1907, he served in India, Aden, Malta and Egypt where the Regiment was when war broke out. They returned to England in early October, and went to France the following month. He was shot through the shoulder by a sniper, being killed instantaneously, while drawing rations for comrades. Captain L. Robinson wrote, “He was a good soldier…I was with him when he died, and buried him myself.” His sixth brother, Sergeant George Henry Goodburn, 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards, served with the Expeditionary Force in France, and his youngest brother joined the Canadian Cavalry in Ontario.
The War Diary records: 25-27 Jan-15 – In billets at LA GORGUE. On 25th we were ordered to be in readiness for a move as the 1st Corps further South reported an attack imminent. However beyond bursts of rapid fire from the Germans opposite our lines, nothing occurred and normal conditions were resumed at 6.30pm. The weather was quite good and had not rained at all for 5 days.
On 26th a draft of 40 men arrived. With the exception of four, they were all returned sick, being men who had gone down with frost bite and had been kept in hospital in France.
Even with these, we barely touched 520 going into the trenches on 27th.
The War Diary records: 28-30 Jan-15 – Fine and frosty all the time. The trenches however, did not catch the frost much and remained very wet. The breastworks were strengthened and made more bullet proof, but all communication was severed by day although new communicating trenches were in the making. It was not possible to do much work on them as our weakness in men and the urgent necessity of the work in the actual fire trenches or breastworks, left none over to work outside and all the working parties of reserve units were employed on making points -?- -?- in the immediate rear. The German artillery showed a little more activity than usual, using shrapnel against our trenches and behind nearly every day.
Casualties, 7 killed, 12 wounded.
On Friday February 5th 1915 The Melton Mowbray Times & Vale of Belvoir Gazette published the following article under the heading. “MELTON AND THE WAR.” – ANOTHER LOCAL CASUALTY. – MELTON SOLDIER KILLED. – Yet another Melton soldier has lost his life at the front, the latest victim being, Pte. John Goodburn, son of Mr. and Mrs. John James Goodburn, 33, Mill Street. Deceased who was 27 years of age, was some years ago in the employ of Mr. Lane, and subsequently for a short time in the Melton Co-operative Society’s Butchery department. He then went to work at Peterborough, and whilst there enlisted seven years ago in the 2nd Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment, being attached to the B Company. He accompanied his regiment to India, then removed with them to Aden, Arabia, afterwards going to Malta, and from there to Egypt, where he was still serving when the present war broke out. His regiment was then ordered home arriving in England at the beginning of October, and Pte. Goodburn came to Melton for a couple of days on furlough before proceeding out to the front. Only a week ago we received a cheerful letter from him dated January 21st, expressing thanks to all kind friends at Melton Mowbray who contributed towards the gifts of chocolate and cigarettes, and at the same time he wrote to his parents informing them that he had written to us and adding; “We are still having some very bad weather, and the trenches are in a very bad state. I have not heard from George (his brother) since he has been on the Maxim gun section, but he has been very close to me of late.” This was the last letter he wrote home, and on Monday morning Mrs. Goodburn received the following: “Lance Corporal Ellington, B Company, 2nd Northants. Regiment, British Expeditionary Force. 28th January 1915. Dear Mrs. Goodburn, - I being a friend of your son John, think it my duty to break the sad news to you of his death on the 27th January. He was shot through the shoulder, and the ball came out of his breast. He did not suffer, as he was killed instantly. I was with him when he got hit. Myself and his section did all we could for him, but it was too late - the Lord had taken him away. It was John’s wish that you should know as soon as possible if anything should happen to him. I remain, yours sincerely, - F. Ellington.” The Commanding Officer of the Company added the following postscript: “Dear Mrs. Goodburn, I see Lance Corporal Ellington has told you about your son. He was a good soldier, and the company is sorry to lose him. I was with him when he died, and I buried him myself. Sympathising deeply with you in your loss, I remain, yours sincerely, L. Robinson, Captain, commanding B Company, 2nd Northants. Regiment. Deceased had previously written several interesting letters giving details of his experiences, and in one of them dated November 27th he said: “I am all right and in the best of health. I am now out of the trenches for a rest and wash and brush up. We live fairly well in the trenches, considering. We had an undershirt given to us the other day, also a scarf and mits. We want them, mother, for it is very cold and wet. A lot of fellows have gone into hospital with frozen feet, but we stick it well. You people at home do not realise what this war is like as the French do. To see homes blown to pieces, and cattle and stock lying about dead is heart rending. People have got as many as 30 soldiers resting in their houses – in lofts and anywhere they can put them, but we are happy in our way. You would be surprised how good the men are in the fighting line. The night we got in the trenches the Germans fired on us as hard as they could, but we put our rifles up and fired back as if nothing was the matter but in a shooting gallery. We have lost about 12 men since we have been in the trenches, and a few wounded. We have been very lucky.” On January 2nd he wrote: “A few more cheerful lines for you. I am in the best of health, and have had a letter from George today. I have also had a parcel today containing a box of chocolate and ¼ lb tin of tobacco, with type written address, and wishes from all at Melton. I don’t know who sent it, so I cannot write and thank them for it. I will write a long letter when I come out of the trenches.” Mr. and Mrs. Goodburn have another son, George, fighting with the Coldstream Guards, and he too has written home some interesting experiences of the war as will be seen by the following extracts: “November 28th 1914. I am in the best of health, although I have had a very rough time. Have been in the trenches 25 days, and in a foot of water. Some of us had frost bitten toes. We have had a nice taste of snow and hail, but will face the weather with a smile now we have all been issued with fur coats and body belts, but I don’t care to start to wear the belts, as I have plenty of warm clothes. We wear the fur coats underneath the khaki ones, and they are fine things, I would like you to see them, a proper woolly back. We are having a few days rest now, and I feel quite a new chap. It is quite a change to have a wash and shave. You would have taken me for a man of 50 before I was shaved, and our faces were like roads. Sorry I am not able to be home this Christmas, but hope to smash them up before the next. We shall do the way we are going on, though they have thinned us out a good bit. We have had our trenches only a few yards from theirs, and they threw empty bully tins at us. We let them have a few bullets in return. Several of us had our rifles on the top of the trenches, and they put the machine gun on and blew them to pieces, but they didn’t catch us on the hop a second time. You only had to put your hand up, and you would very soon have been out of mess. I am sending you this poem, and I think you will find it quite true. When England’s in danger, and war is nigh, God and soldier’s is the cry: But when war is o’er and wrong’s are righted. God’s forgotten, and soldiers slighted. That is the case with half the people in England.” December 12th 1914. I am in the very best of health, and hope to keep so throughout the whole of the war. I should like to go through it all now; can’t go through any worse than we have been. We are making very satisfactory progress up to now, and hope to make a good deal more yet. We need to jump about a bit when the shells come within a yard or two of our trenches, but we sit and watch them now. We had a fine sight the last place we were at. The shells were dropping in a lake four or five at a time, and the water went higher than any church. They put over 90 in the same place – sat counting them as they came. They were trying to shell the town and railway, and the town is all on fire. Ypres is the name of the place. The guns would be firing about eight miles away. The shells make a nice mess of a church. We have had a nice rest, and shall soon be bound for the trenches again. We have all been issued with new khaki and fur coats. It looks quite strange to see one another. December 27th 1914. We went into the trenches just before Christmas, after a long march, so I must wish you all a bright and prosperous New Year. The enclosed is a present from the Queen, and they told us we could send them home if we liked. I have also put the speech of Sir John French, a German watch, and three Belgian pennies I got from Mons. It is almost too cold to write in the trenches, although very glad to say I am in good health. Had a very happy Christmas, I was riding a German cycle and they were sniping at us all day. That was in the support trenches at the rear of the firing line, about 300 yards back. It’s not hard to die when fighting’s our trade.”