Australian rules footballer
| Godfrey Goldin | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Godfrey Robert Goldin | ||
| Date of birth | (1919-06-10)10 June 1919 | ||
| Place of birth | Abbotsford, Victoria | ||
| Date of death | 7 February 1943(1943-02-07) (aged 23) | ||
| Place of death | Territory of New Guinea | ||
| Original team(s) | Coburg Amateurs | ||
| Position(s) | Rover | ||
| Playing career | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 1939 | Essendon | 8 (6) | |
| Playing statistics correct to the end of 1939. | |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Godfrey Robert Goldin (10 June 1919 – 7 February 1943) was a champion schoolboy Australian rules footballer who also played with Essendon in the Victorian Football League (VFL).
He died of wounds sustained in action while serving with the Second AIF in New Guinea during World War II.
Family
The son of Robert Vane Goldin (1886-1969), and Ellen Christina Goldin (1890-1973), née Graham, Godfrey Robert Goldin was born on 10 June 1919.
He was engaged to Grace Lillian Osborne in September 1942. They never married.
His younger brother, Allan "Dick" Goldin, played 104 games in six seasons (1947 to 1952) for the Preston Football Club in the Victorian Football Association (VFA). He later coached Preston Seconds.
Football
East Coburg State School
He was a champion schoolboy footballer, he played for the East Coburg State School team (coached by Jack Baggott, and represented Victoria in the 1933 Inter-State Schoolboys' Australian Rules Carnival in Brisbane.
Coburg Amateurs
He played for the Coburg Amateurs team that won the D Grade premiership in 1936.
Essendon (VFL)
Recruited by Essendon in 1937, he played a season with Essendon's Second XVIII before making his debut against North Melbourne on 27 May 1939.
With his early preseason training restricted by illness and injury, Goldin played several games with the Second XVIII in 1940.
Cricket
He played for Preston Cricket Club in the Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association.
Military service
He enlisted in the Second AIF on 11 March 1941.
Death
Having served in the North Africa, he died in New Guinea on 7 February 1943 of wounds he had sustained fighting against the Japanese in the Battle of Wau.
He was buried at the Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery.
See also
Footnotes
- Holmesby & Main (2007).
- World War One Service Record: Driver Robert Vain (sic) Goldin (1245), National Archives of Australia.
- He put Army on sound footing, The Argus, (Saturday, 16 June 1951), p.5; Foot Note, The Herald, (Saturday, 16 June 1951), p.3.
- Personal, The Melton Express, (Saturday, 5 September 1942), p.2.
- In Memoriam: On Active Service: Goldin, The Herald, (Thursday, 7 February 1946), p.4.
- Richard Goldin, at The VFA Project.
- Dick Goldin, at Boyles Football Photos.
- Priestley, John, "Players benefit from VFA fund, The Herald (Wednesday, 20 May 1953), p.24.
- State Schools' Association, The Age, (Wednesday, 13 September 1933), p.12.
- Schoolboys' Carnival, The Brisbane Courier, (Wednesday, 2 August 1933) p.5; National Rules, The (Brisbane) Sunday Mail, (Sunday, 6 August 1933), p.9.
- "Almanac Footy (History) – Jack Mueller: The Power of One". The Footy Almanac. 4 December 2023. Archived from the original on 20 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
Godfrey (ex-Coburg Amateurs VAFA) played just eight games for Essendon before enlisting in the Second AIF.
- Dons' New Man, The Herald, (Friday, 26 May 1939), p.19; Amateur Helps Essendon, The Sporting Globe, (Wednesday, 19 July 1939), p.10.
- Essendon's Newcomers, The Age, (Wednesday 27 March 1940), p.8; Around League Clubs, The Argus, (Friday, 31 May 1940), p.12; Around League Clubs, The Argus, (Friday, 21 July 1940), p.15.
- Blake, Jim, "Who's Who of Football: No.12. Essendon", The Sporting Globe, (Saturday, 6 July 1940), p.5.
- Deaths: On Active Service: Goldin, The Argus, (Wednesday, 17 February 1943), p.2.
- In Memoriam: Roll of Honour—On Active Service: Goldin, The Argus, (Monday, 7 February 1944), p.2.
References
- Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. ISBN 9781920910785.
- Main, J. & Allen, D., "Goldin, Godfrey", pp. 254–257 in Main, J. & Allen, D., Fallen – The Ultimate Heroes: Footballers Who Never Returned From War, Crown Content, (Melbourne), 2002. ISBN 1-74095-010-0
- Maplestone, M., Flying Higher: History of the Essendon Football Club 1872–1996, Essendon Football Club, (Melbourne), 1996. ISBN 0-9591740-2-8
- World War Two Nominal Roll: Private Godfrey Robert Goldin (VX51038), Department of Veterans' Affairs.
- Roll of Honour: Private Godfrey Robert Goldin (VX51038), Australian War Memorial.
- Roll of Honour Circular: Private Godfrey Robert Goldin (VX51038), collection of the Australian War Memorial.
- Victorians in Casualty List: Australia and The Islands: Wounded in Action and Placed on the Dangerously Ill List, The Argus, (Friday, 19 February 1943), p.4.
- Victorians in Army Casualty List: Australia and The Islands: Previously Reported Wounded in Action, Now Reported Died of Wounds, The Argus, (Thursday, 4 March 1943), p.5.
External links
- Godfrey Goldin's playing statistics from AFL Tables
- Godfrey Goldin at AustralianFootball.com
- Private Godfrey Robert Goldin (VX51038), Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
- 1919 births
- 1943 deaths
- Australian rules footballers from Melbourne
- Essendon Football Club players
- Australian military personnel killed in World War II
- Australian Army personnel of World War II
- Australian Army soldiers
- Burials at Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery
- Military personnel from Melbourne
- People from Abbotsford, Victoria
- 20th-century Australian sportsmen