b. 29/11/1888 South Bathurst, Canada. d. 18/04/1969 Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada.
Herman James Good (1888-1969) was born in Big River, New Brunswick, Canada on November 29th, 1888. He was educated at the local public school and involved in lumber operations in the area. He enlisted on June 29th, 1915, in Sussex, New Brunswick. He firstserved with the 5th Battalion, then the 2nd Pioneer Battalion, before being transferred to the 13th (Royal Highlanders of Canada) Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force. Good was wounded on three occasions prior to the events of August 8th, 1918.
Herman J Good VC
Corporal Good was awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroism on August 8th, 1918, the opening day of the attack by the Canadian Corps at Amiens, France when in attack his company was held up by heavy fire from three machine guns, which were seriously delaying the advance. Realising the gravity of the situation, this N.C.O. dashed forward alone, killing several of the garrison and capturing the remainder.
Later on Cpl. Good, while alone, encountered a battery of 5.9-inch guns, which were in action at the time. Collecting three men of his section, he charged the battery under point-blank fire and captured the entire crews of three guns.
His citation was published in the London Gazette on 27th September 1918, and he received his medal at Buckingham Palace from King George V on 29th March 1919. At the end of the war, Good returned to the Bathurst area, and was involved in farming and lumbering. For twenty years, he served as the district’s Fish, Game and Fire Warden. He married Martha Moore and had three sons.
In addition to Good, nine other members of the Canadian Corps earned Victoria Crosses between 8th and 13th August—Lieutenants Jean Brillant and James Edward Tait, Sergeants Robert Spall and Raphael Louis Zengel, Corporals Alexander Picton Brereton, Frederick George Coppins, and Harry Garnet Bedford Miner and Privates John Bernard Croak and Thomas Dinesen.
Herman Good laid the cornerstone for Branch Number 18 of the Royal Canadian Legion, Bathurst, NB in the 1960s. A couple of years later, it was named for this Bathurst native son. Herman James Good died on April 18th, 1969, in Bathurst, New Brunswick, following a five-year illness. He was buried in St Albans Cemetery, Bathurst with a simple black marker on the grave. On 9th August 2006, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission replaced the marker with a new headstone.
His medals were held privately. They were purchased in 2014 with the assistance of the National Collection Fund which is supported by donors to help the former Canadian Museum of Civilization and the Canadian War Museum acquire important artifacts of Canada’s cultural or military history. They are now part of the Canadian War Museum’s collection of VC groups.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: CANADIAN WAR MUSEUM, OTTAWA.
BURIAL PLACE: ST ALBANS CEMETERY, BATHURST, NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA.
Acknowledgement:
Canadian War Museum – Images of the Good VC Medal Group and VC Medal.