Gerald Goodlake

Lieutenant General Gerald Littlehales Goodlake VC

Lieutenant General Gerald Littlehales Goodlake VC (14 May 1832 – 5 April 1890) was one of the earliest recipients of the Victoria Cross and a distinguished officer of the Coldstream Guards whose courage during the Crimean War earned him a permanent place in British military history.

Born at Wadley, near Faringdon, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire), Goodlake was educated at Eton College before being commissioned into the British Army in 1850. He transferred to the Coldstream Guards the following year and deployed to the Crimea in 1854, taking part in the major actions of the campaign, including Alma, Balaklava, Inkerman and the Siege of Sevastopol.

During the fighting around Sevastopol, Goodlake volunteered to command a newly formed corps of Guards sharpshooters. On 28 October 1854, following the Battle of Balaklava, he led approximately sixty elite marksmen in the defence of Windmill Ravine against a much larger Russian force. Fighting as the only officer present, his men held their ground, inflicted heavy casualties, captured three prisoners, and repulsed the attack. Weeks later, he again demonstrated exceptional leadership by surprising and routing a Russian picket, capturing their rifles and equipment. These actions formed the basis of his Victoria Cross award.

His Victoria Cross was announced in the London Gazette on 24 February 1857, and he was among the first recipients to receive the decoration directly from Queen Victoria during the inaugural Victoria Cross investiture in Hyde Park on 26 June 1857.

Goodlake continued to rise through the ranks, becoming Lieutenant Colonel in 1859 and serving as an Aide-de-Camp to Queen Victoria from 1869. Promoted to Major General in 1879, he retired in 1881 with the honorary rank of Lieutenant General after more than three decades of distinguished service. During his career he was twice Mentioned in Despatches and also received the French Legion of Honour, the Ottoman Order of the Medjidie (5th Class), and the Turkish Crimea Medal in recognition of his service during the Crimean War.

Lieutenant General Gerald Littlehales Goodlake died at Denham, Buckinghamshire, on 5 April 1890, aged 57. He is buried at St. Mary the Virgin Churchyard, Harefield, Middlesex. His medal group, including the Victoria Cross and Crimea Medal with the clasps Alma, Balaklava, Inkermann, and Sebastopol, is preserved by the Guards Regimental Headquarters at Wellington Barracks, London.

Victoria Cross Citation

For distinguished gallantry whilst in command of the sharpshooters furnished by the Coldstream Guards, on the 28th October, 1854, on the occasion of “the powerful sortie on the 2nd Division,” when he held the Windmill Ravine, below the Picquet House, against a much larger force of the enemy. The party of sharpshooters then under his command killed thirty-eight (one an officer) and took three prisoners of the enemy, Major Goodlake being the sole officer in command. Also, for distinguished gallantry on the occasion of the surprise of a picquet of the enemy in November, at the bottom of the Windmill Ravine, by the sharpshooters under his sole leading and command, when the knapsacks and rifles of the enemy’s party fell into his hands.

London Gazette, No. 21971, Supplement, 24 February 1857.