Richard Godfrey was born on 8 May 1911 the seventh of the ten children of William Godfrey (1873-1922) and Jessie Elizabeth Godfrey née Utley (1873-1967). His birth was registered in the 2nd quarter of 1911 in the Shoreditch registration district.
He was baptised on 28 May 1911 in St Agatha's Church, Shoreditch and the baptismal register records the family address as 14, F Block, White Cross, Shoreditch.
When his father enlisted as a Sapper in the Royal Engineers, service number 108287, on 8 July 1915 he gave the family address as 35 Constance Street, Nile Street, Hoxton and his occupation as a harness maker.
He is shown on the 1932 & 1933 electoral registers as living at 15 Aske Street, Shoreditch with his widowed mother and three siblings and the 1934 & 1935 registers show him there with his mother and four siblings who were now entitled to vote.
In 1935 he married Esther Mary Therese Waldron (b.1914) in the Shoreditch registration district and the 1936 electoral register lists them at 341 Liverpool Road, Islington.
The 1939 England and Wales Register shows him and his wife living at 25 Fairbank Street, Shoreditch. His occupation was recorded as a glass polisher whilst his wife was an office cleaner.
He was enlisted as a Gunner in the Royal Regiment of Artillery, service number 1748578, and was attached to their 533rd Battery of the 156th Heavy Anti Aircraft Regiment when he died, aged 33 years, on 16 June 1944. His death was registered in the 2nd quarter of 1944 in the Essex S.W. registration district.
As he has no known grave, he is commemorated on of the Brookwood 1939-1945 Memorial at The Brookwood Military Cemetery, St Lawrence Avenue, Dawney Hill, Pirbright, Woking, GU24 0JB.
Credit for this entry to: Andrew Behan.
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