William Edmund Goodenough was born on 2 June 1867 at Portsmouth. In 1880, he joined the Royal Navy as naval cadet in HMS Britannia, advancing to midshipman in 1882 and lieutenant in 1889. After serving in the Mediterranean and China Station, he was promoted commander in 1900 and captain in 1905, commanding the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth between 1905 and 1907. During the First World War, he saw action at Heligoland Bight in August 1914 and Dogger Bank in January 1915, and took part in the Battle of Jutland, advancing to the rank of rear admiral in 1916. Goodenough commanded Second Battle Squadron until 1919, the year in which he was knighted.
Serving as admiral superintendent of Chatham dockyard and commander-in-chief of the Africa station after the war, he was later appointed commander-in-chief at the Nore and was promoted admiral in 1925. Retiring from the Navy in 1930, he served as president of the Royal Geographical Society from 1930 until 1933. He died on 30 January 1945 at Coulsdon, Surrey.
From the guide to the William Goodenough collection, 1936, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
