Joseph Bright Gooch, mariner born UK 1832, possibly resident in Australia.

[majm]

Yes the death of Herbert got quite a bit of attention at the time. Even when his sister died in 1935, a big chunk of the obit was a reference to her brother.

No need to go too far down the generations of this family as it is a side branch to my own family.
My principal targets were John Campbell Gooch and of course his brother Joseph Bright Gooch.

Having said that, the stories that have emerged have been quite fascinating.

One detail struck me as odd, and I wonder if anyone has comments:
When Herbert died in 1915, the newspaper article talked about his mother being informed. Yet Herbert's father is still alive at the time. And I think the article that describes the marriage of Bertha also mentions Mrs Gooch (the mother) without reference to the father. (I will have to review that just to be sure). It gives the impression that the father is not around.


-DC

They were living apart, as per the Service Records.  I posted the live link here:

.....Here are his service records https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=4770770 .....

That set seems to show he was discharged within weeks of volunteering in 1914, and it only gives NSW as the state for his birth. 

May I offer the following set, it includes his middle name, and notes his place of birth as Tamworth and gives full details re his nok . 
http://soda.naa.gov.au/record/4770771/1  38 pages, just click through   .

JM

ADD, for example correspondence from Elizabeth Jane shows she was living apart from John Burton for a considerable time but six weeks before he died she took him out of the hospital (I read it as though she attended to him in what we would now consider as palliative care, but that's just my reading of that letter)   ... page 20 of 38,   

JM

[rosball]

Spot on DC.

In 1915 electoral roll for Brisbane Toowong
Only Eliza Jane GOOCH and Herbert Sherlock GOOCH registered as living in Irvine St.   

I tried a quick search on trove for a mention of a divorce but no luck.

Ros

[dtcoulson]

Page 6 of the Service record gives a change of NOK and calls the father "Decd" which I assume means 'deceased'.

http://soda.naa.gov.au/record/4770771/1


The page has no date on it but the declared age of Herbert at the time tells us this was in 1914.

How do we reconcile this with JBG being in hospital until six weeks before he died in 1918?

-DC

[dtcoulson]

I think I have it.

Page 11 shows that the military held these records until considerably after the war and modified the mailing address when it became apparent that the old address was no longer correct. Page 12 shows a postmark of 1922.

-DC

[majm]

Page 6 of the Service record gives a change of NOK and calls the father "Decd" which I assume means 'deceased'.

http://soda.naa.gov.au/record/4770771/1


The page has no date on it but the declared age of Herbert at the time tells us this was in 1914.

How do we reconcile this with JBG being in hospital until six weeks before he died in 1918?

-DC

The red writing was NOT on the document in 1914, but added in a different hand later. 

JM

[majm]

The AIF records in that series are detailed,    

Here is an example of a B2455 series file with 113 pages,  http://soda.naa.gov.au/record/4028782/1 it is for a chap who went on to become, among many roles, the Governor General of Australia.   There are similar sized (100 pages or more) files regardless of if a public figure or a private individual. 

JM

[dtcoulson]

Page 20, 21 quite tragic all round.
I never expected to see clues relating to the parents found in a service record.

[dtcoulson]

Australia has done well to preserve these records.
My UK grandfather's WW1 records no longer exist,
having been destroyed by fire in WW2.

[majm]

New Zealand has similar resources.   

Once upon a time, to gain access to those very detailed Australian Imperial Force records, the enquirer needed to have proof that the individual was no longer living, pay a fee and be sent photographs (not copy, but actual photograghs produced at scale of 1:1) of the contents of each file, after having approval from the Army.   Then once the Army was able to confirm via Dept of Veterans Affairs that each individual was known to be no longer living, the Federal government funded the NAA to completely digitise all the B2455 series as a gift to the Nation. 

ADD  April 2007 for the Gift to the Nation 

http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/publications/papers-and-podcasts/war/index.aspx

and the NZ WWI files : http://archives.govt.nz/research/guides/war
https://archway.archives.govt.nz/

All those with files in the B2455 series for Australia Imperial Force were volunteers.  No conscription ... twice voted down in referendums.  Several of my ancestors served, some did not return, some did.


JM