Hi Pete.
Found this in the wonderfully researched " England's Sons " by renowned researcher Julian Whybra .
Gooding was in fact a member of No 1 sqdn of mtd Inf that was with the 3rd ( centre column ). Julian has him
listed as a possible survivor , according to family tradition he was present and escaped from Isandlwana . The headstone
says he died at Ladysmith , where in actual fact it is Helpmekaar and is buried there in an unmarked grave . Julian
goes on to say he was one of 36 volunteers from the 2 / 3rd Regt to join the 1ST SQDN MTD INF. He may have
remained in camp or could have been with Chelmsford . The family members may have got information directly from
Gooding or a comrade in the form of a letter ( which may have been misinterpreted ) . Alternatively he may be a geniune
survivor . Now the book states 10 survivors listed at Helpmekaar on the 24th also in the official returns , Julian goes on to
say if Gooding was there he would have or should have been on that list . He also goes on to say . " In short , all IMI survivors
corroborate each other's escapes . However , Capt . Stafford NNC records an additional unknown IMI survivor who escaped on foot , and Lt Davies NNH seems to be describing the same man . Trp . Shannon NMP also records encountering a mounted infantryman on the Fugitives trail . Could one or all of these be Gooding ? .
This is a very detailed book and well worth having . The contents and footnotes are quite detailed , if you want detail and
a referance for those at Isand and R.D this is for you , I will post a link where it can be obtained , bear in mind it is a A4 sized
soft cover binded folder , but its what"s inside that counts . I do not know Mr. Whybra so this isnt a free plug to boost sales.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]cheers 90th