60 Facts About Alexander Godley

Alexander Godley is best known for his role as commander of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force and II Anzac Corps during the First World War.

Alexander Godley fought in the Boer War and afterwards served in a number of staff positions in England.

Alexander Godley led the corps for most of its service on the Western Front.

Alexander Godley's corps suffered heavy losses in the ensuing battle.

Alexander Godley was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in 1928 and was Governor of Gibraltar for five years until his retirement in 1933.

Alexander Godley was born at Gillingham in Kent, England, on 4 February 1867, the eldest son of William Godley, an Irishman who was a captain in the British Army, and Laura, who was English.

However, after a few years, Alexander Godley reconsidered his future and chose to pursue a career with the British Army.

Unable to continue at Haileybury, Alexander Godley attended United Services College, in Devon, as a boarder.

Alexander Godley's maternal uncle, Spencer Bird, was an officer in the regiment's 1st Battalion, and ensured Godley joined his unit.

An enthusiastic horseman, Alexander Godley engaged in hunting and polo, at which he became extremely proficient.

Alexander Godley later played in the first international polo match between England and Argentina at the Hurlingham Club in Buenos Aires.

From 1890, Alexander Godley served in a number of posts around Ireland, including the Royal Dublin Fusiliers recruiting depot at Naas, in County Kildare.

Alexander Godley met Louisa Fowler, his future wife, the elder sister of Sir John Sharman Fowler.

In 1894, Alexander Godley took an instructors course for mounted infantry at Aldershot.

In 1898 Alexander Godley attended the Staff College at Camberley, which brought him into contact with George Francis Robert Henderson, "the prominent military theorist of his time".

Alexander Godley was later adjutant to Colonel Robert Baden-Powell and was present during the siege of Mafeking.

Alexander Godley was chief staff officer to Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Plumer and later commanded the Rhodesian Brigade.

In 1900, Alexander Godley transferred to the Irish Guards before being appointed to the staff at Aldershot Command as commander of the mounted infantry.

Alexander Godley then served as an assistant adjutant general, taking over this position from Colonel John Cowans, and was promoted to full colonel in March 1906.

Alexander Godley then served on the staff of the 2nd Division at Aldershot until March 1910 when he relinquished the position to Colonel Beauvoir De Lisle and was placed on half-pay.

Later in 1910 Alexander Godley accepted the position of commandant of the New Zealand Military Forces, as the New Zealand Army was then known.

Alexander Godley had some reservations about his new appointment; he had been in line for command of an infantry brigade and was concerned that being posted to remote New Zealand would be detrimental to his career.

Alexander Godley arrived in New Zealand to take up his duties in December 1910.

In refining the New Zealand Military Forces, Alexander Godley drew heavily on the recommendations of Lord Kitchener, who had visited New Zealand earlier in the year on an inspection tour.

Alexander Godley established the Territorial Force, which replaced the outdated and recently disbanded Volunteer Force.

Alexander Godley organised the structure of the New Zealand Military Forces into four military districts, with each district to be capable of raising an infantry and a mounted brigade.

Alexander Godley formed the New Zealand Staff Corps, which provided a professional body of officers to train and administer the Territorial Force.

From 1912, Alexander Godley began putting plans in place for the rapid deployment of a New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the event of war in Europe.

Alexander Godley anticipated that Imperial Germany would be the likely enemy and envisaged deployment to either Europe or possibly Egypt, to counter the likely threat to the Suez Canal in the event Turkey aligned itself with Germany.

Alexander Godley envisioned the expected deployment would be co-ordinated with an Australian Imperial Force and liaised with the Australian Chief of General Staff, Brigadier General Joseph Gordon, and the possibility of a composite division was discussed.

The arrangements Alexander Godley put in place for deployment for the NZEF were soon put to the test, for when the First World War began, a New Zealand occupation force was quickly assembled to occupy German Samoa.

The New Zealand government authorised the formation of the NZEF for service in the war in support of Great Britain, with Alexander Godley, having relinquished his position as commandant of the New Zealand Military Forces to Major General Alfred William Robin, as its commander.

Alexander Godley would retain command of the NZEF for the duration of the war, making regular reports to James Allen, the New Zealand Minister of Defence.

Allen, although publicly supportive of Alexander Godley, privately believed an alternative commander should be found after the division completed its training.

Alexander Godley was a distant and remote divisional commander, not popular with most soldiers of his command.

Alexander Godley favoured the professional officers of the NZEF, most of whom were seconded from the British Army, over those drawn from the Territorial Force.

Alexander Godley continued as divisional commander for most of the campaign at Gallipoli.

The number of reinforcements from both New Zealand and Australia were more than enough to bring the existing ANZAC divisions back up to strength, and in January 1916 Alexander Godley proposed forming new divisions from the surplus reinforcements.

Alexander Godley was named as commander of I ANZAC Corps which included the original AIF divisions, the 1st and 2nd Divisions, and the newly formed New Zealand Division.

Birdwood was to take the corps to France, and on 28 March 1916, he exchanged commands with Alexander Godley, who took over II ANZAC Corps.

Alexander Godley went on leave for a short time during this period of transition for his corps.

Alexander Godley continued to lead II ANZAC Corps while the I ANZAC Corps was engaged in the Battle of the Somme.

Alexander Godley pointed out that the Australian divisions had seen more action than the New Zealanders.

Alexander Godley raised the prospect of being replaced as commander of the NZEF and proposed Major General Andrew Russell, the commander of the New Zealand Division, as his successor.

Alexander Godley remained the commander of the NZEF until its disbandment in late 1919.

Alexander Godley's corps was now composed largely of British divisions with a small contingent of New Zealand corps units.

Alexander Godley was temporary commander of III Corps in the Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin during the early phase of the Hundred Days Offensive in August 1918 before returning to command of XXII Corps.

Alexander Godley received a number of foreign decorations as a result of his war service.

Alexander Godley was awarded the Serbian Great Officer Cross of the Order of the White Eagle in October 1916, the Belgian Order of the Crown in 1917 and the Belgian Croix de guerre in 1918.

Alexander Godley then returned to Germany as commander-in-chief of the British Army of the Rhine.

Alexander Godley was considered the ablest of the immediate post war governors although he made a misjudgement in interfering in the politics of the Royal Calpe Hunt.

The King had to intercede after Alexander Godley removed the master of the hunt creating large divisions that were not repaired until his successor took charge.

Alexander Godley always held his New Zealand soldiers in high esteem, even if that respect was not reciprocated, and made tours of New Zealand in 1934 and 1935.

In late 1936, Alexander Godley was considered a possible candidate for the governorship of New South Wales but was ultimately not appointed to the position.

Alexander Godley later wrote and published British Military History in South America.

Alexander Godley had lived in New Zealand during Godley's term as Commandant of the New Zealand Military Forces, and had accompanied him to Egypt during the war.

Alexander Godley later commanded a platoon of the Home Guard.

Alexander Godley assisted the publisher in a revision of The Home Guard Training Manual and worked at the Royal Empire Society in London.

Alexander Godley retired to Woodlands St Mary in Lambourn and then Boxford, both in Berkshire.

Alexander Godley died at the age of 90 in a rest home at Oxford on 6 March 1957.