Temporary Lieutenant John Godwin,

RNVR The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two Volunteer Reserves (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve (United Kingdom), ...

(13 December 1919 – 2 February 1945) was a British naval officer. Born and brought up in Argentina, he took part in a raid named Operation Checkmate on

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

shipping near

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipalities of Norway, municipality and List of towns and cities in Norway, town on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. As of December 2023, the municipality of Haugesund has a population of 37,855. The vast majority of ...

, north of

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. His party managed to sink a minesweeper and a number of steamers using limpet mines, but he was eventually captured with the rest of his party, a commando sergeant, two Naval Petty Officers and three seamen. Initially they were held in

Grini concentration camp Grini prison camp (, ) was a Nazi concentration camp in Bærum, Norway, which operated between 1941 and May 1945. Ila Detention and Security Prison is now located here. History Grini was originally built as a women's prison, near an old croft ...

. This was the same camp where, in January 1943, the Germans executed five commando survivors of Operation Freshman. However, Godwin and his comrades were not executed at Grini, but instead sent to

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners t ...

, where contrary to the

Geneva Convention upright=1.15, The original document in single pages, 1864 The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian t ...

, they were forced to march 30 miles a day on cobbles testing army boots. On 2 February 1945 they were led to execution, in accordance with Hitler's

Commando Order The Commando Order () was issued by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, OKW, the high command of the Wehrmacht, German Armed Forces, on 18 October 1942. This order stated that all Allies of World War II, Allied commandos captured in Europe and Africa ...

of 1942. Godwin managed to wrestle the pistol of the firing party commander from his belt and shoot him dead before being himself shot. No superior officer witnessed this act so a decoration could not be awarded. However, his bravery was mentioned in dispatches (posthumously). The citation, in ''

The London Gazette ''The London Gazette'', known generally as ''The Gazette'', is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, i ...

'', 9 October 1945, read: "For great gallantry and inspiring example whilst a prisoner of war in German hands in

and afterwards at Sachsenhausen, near

Oranienburg Oranienburg () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel. Geography Oranienburg is on the banks of the River Havel, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin. Division of the town Oranienburg consists of ni ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, 1942–1945".

Notes

Sources

Volunteers from Argentina who gave their lives in WWII. Memorial

CWGC entry
*

M. R. D. Foot Michael Richard Daniell Foot, (14 December 1919 – 18 February 2012) was a British political and military historian, and former British Army intelligence officer with the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. Foot was the a ...

& J. M. Langley 1979 ''MI9 – Escape and Evasion 1939–1945'', London, Book Club Associates, London, 1979 pp. 154, 155 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Godwin, John 1945 deaths Military personnel from Buenos Aires Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Navy personnel killed in World War II Argentina in World War II Military personnel who died in Nazi concentration camps Argentine people of English descent Grini concentration camp prisoners People who died in Sachsenhausen concentration camp Royal Navy Commando officers 1919 births Executed Argentine people British people executed in Nazi concentration camps Argentine people executed in Nazi concentration camps Argentine prisoners of war Royal Navy officers of World War II People executed by Nazi Germany by firing squad