William Goodenough


Sir William Edmund Goodenough was a senior Royal Navy officer of World War I. He was the son of James Graham Goodenough.

Naval career

Goodenough joined the Royal Navy in 1882. He was appointed Commander of the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in 1905. He was given command of the cruiser HMS Cochrane in 1910 and of the battleship HMS Colossus in 1911.
He served in World War I and commanded the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron from 1913 to 1916, participating in the battles of Heligoland Bight in August 1914, Dogger Bank in January 1915, and Jutland in May to June 1916. In the King's Birthday Honours of 3 June 1916, Goodenough was appointed an Additional Member of the Third Class, or Companion, in the Military Division of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath. He was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral on 10 June.
After the War he became Superintendent at Chatham Dockyard and then, from 1920, Commander-in-Chief at the Africa Station. He was made Vice Admiral commanding the Reserve Fleet in 1923 and Commander-in-Chief, The Nore in 1924. He was First and Principal Naval Aide-de-camp to the King from 1929 to 1930. He retired in 1930.
In retirement Goodenough was president of the Royal Geographical Society from 1930 to 1933. He died in 1945.