Roger Goad (explosives officer)

Roger Philip Goad, GC, BEM (5 August 1935 – 29 August 1975) was an explosives officer with London's Metropolitan Police Service who was posthumously awarded the George Cross for the heroism he displayed on 29 August 1975. He had previously been awarded the British Empire Medal in 1958 for gallantry whilst serving with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps in Cyprus, for repeated acts of deliberate courage in the disarming of bombs and booby traps set by terrorists.[1]

Roger Goad
Born(1935-08-05)5 August 1935
Jutogh, India
Died29 August 1975(1975-08-29) (aged 40)
Kensington, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1953–1974
RankCaptain
Service number22966669
UnitRoyal Army Ordnance Corps
Battles/warsCyprus Emergency
The Troubles
AwardsGeorge Cross
British Empire Medal
Other workExplosives Officer, Metropolitan Police Service

Army career

Goad enlisted in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and worked his way up the ranks. He was a sergeant at the time he received the British Empire Medal in February 1958; and a warrant officer class 2 when he received a commission as lieutenant in February 1968.[2] He was promoted to captain two years later,[3] and retired from the army in August 1974.[4] He then became an explosives officer with the Metropolitan Police.

George Cross

Following a telephone tip-off, police officers found a suspicious package placed in a shop doorway in Kensington Church Street in London. Goad was the senior bomb disposal expert on the scene. A bomb, fitted with an anti-handling device, had been placed by Provisional Irish Republican Army members. Goad attempted to defuse the bomb but it exploded, killing him instantly. He was a 40-year-old married man with two children.[5] His citation was published in the London Gazette of 1 October 1976.[6]

The bomb had been placed by the IRA's London active service unit responsible for the 1974–1975 terror campaign in London which included the Guildford pub bombings, the London Hilton bombing & the Woolwich pub bombing among many others, who were later captured at the conclusion of the Balcombe Street siege.[7]

See also

References
  1. "No. 41304". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 February 1958. p. 839.
  2. "No. 44558". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 March 1968. p. 3869.
  3. "No. 45051". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 February 1970. p. 2553.
  4. "No. 46398". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 November 1974. p. 11000.
  5. Police Memorial roll
  6. "No. 47027". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 September 1979. p. 13305.
  7. "The Road to Balcombe Street", Dr. Steven Moysey, Haworth, (2007)
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