Commodore James Graham Goodenough (3 December 1830 – 20 August 1875) was an officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

who went on to become Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station.

Early life and family

He was born at Stoke Hill near

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, the son of Edmund Goodenough, Dean of

Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Bath and Wells and the mother church of the diocese of Bath and Wells. There are daily Church of England services in ...

, and Frances Cockerell. His paternal grandfather was Samuel Goodenough, Bishop of Carlisle, and his godfather was Sir James Graham, after whom he was named. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

. In 1864 he married Victoria Hamilton; they had two sons, including Admiral Sir William Edmund Goodenough.

Naval career

At 14 years of age Goodenough joined the

. He firstly (1844–1848) served on under Captain

Robert Smart Robert Smart may refer to: * Robert Smart (Royal Navy officer) * Robert Borlase Smart, English artist * Robert W. Smart, American artist * Rob Smart, Canadian basketball coach and player {{hndis, Smart, Robert ...

in the Pacific fleet of Admiral Sir George Francis Seymour. He then joined off coast of Africa, before returning to England late in 1849 to sit his lieutenant's exam. He went on to serve in the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War or ''Arrow'' War, was fought between the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860. It was the second major ...

being present at the capture of Canton in 1857. Promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 1863, he was given command of and then . He served as Commander-in-Chief, Australia Station, from 1873. He died of

tetanus Tetanus (), also known as lockjaw, is a bacterial infection caused by ''Clostridium tetani'' and characterized by muscle spasms. In the most common type, the spasms begin in the jaw and then progress to the rest of the body. Each spasm usually l ...

aboard HMS ''Pearl'' off the coast of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, resulting from wounds inflicted from poisoned arrows in an attack by natives of the

Santa Cruz Islands The Santa Cruz Islands form an archipelago in Temotu Province, Solomon Islands. They lie approximately to the southeast of the Solomon Islands (archipelago), Solomon Islands archipelago, just north of the archipelago of Vanuatu and are con ...

. He is buried in St Thomas's Church in

North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...

. Some sources state his burial location at St Leonard’s Cemetery in north Sydney.

Memorials

A stained glass window, ''Adoration of the Lamb'', in St Thomas's Church in North Sydney, is dedicated in his memory and a bust, sculptured by Count Gleichen, was placed in the Painted Hall of Greenwich Hospital. A memorial was also constructed in North Sydney (St Thomas's Church?). The church of the Holy Cross, Cromer Street, King's Cross, London was built in his memory in 1888. The church bell is the ship's bell from , his flagship

References

External links

*
James Goodenough
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodenough, James 1830 births 1875 deaths Military personnel from Guildford People educated at Westminster School, London Royal Navy officers Royal Navy personnel of the Second Opium War Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George 19th-century Royal Navy personnel James Royal Navy commodores