Scottish Rifles Regiment, 2nd / 5th Battalion, Service no. 720
Born: 7th June 1895. Died: 1975
Story
Edgar was the son of Squire Goodall (1861-1950) and his wife Susannah. He was born at Mount Pleasant, Kippax. His father had been one of the men in the rescue parties at the 1896 Peckfield Colliery Disaster, and Edgar’s older brother Arthur also enlisted early during the War. Edgar was a Coal Miner, he was 5 ft 6 inches tall and enlisted 24th February 1916 at the same time as Sidney Thompson. He served at home between 13th April 1916 and 7th July 1916, when he was “discharged as physically unfit to further military service.”
Unfortunately, Edgar was not issued with any discharge papers. Consequently, on 4th April 1918 he was called up again, only to be sent home again on 24th May 1918. Edgar had epilepsy. The Army enquired of the regiment the reason for his recall (below):
Edgar’s father, Squire Goodall, also sent the Army a letter with his son’s details
Eventually, Edgar was discharged after his former Captain, Samuel Rutherford testified:
“This is to certify that I have personally seen Pte E Goodall suffering from ‘fits’ on two separate occasions. Each time the attack was severe.”
It was concluded that Edgar’s condition was not caused by any military source, and he was released from the Army. After the War, Edgar returned to coal mining, and married Lily Holmes in Altofts in January 1920, however Lily passed away in 1924 aged 27. On 12th June 1933, Edgar remarried to Gladys Thornton in Pontefract. By 1939, Edgar was a Dataller in a colliery, and he and Gladys were living in Hemsworth. Edgar passed away in 1975, aged 80.
Kippax Roll of Honour 