Private Frederick John Goodwin joined up with his younger brother John and was fatally wounded during the Battle of the Somme on the same day his brother was killed. The Goodwins are one of three sets of brothers from Ayston who died in the First World War. Fred was born in the village on 3 April 1885, the fifth son of John and Harriet Goodwin who had a total of 12 children. He worked as an orderly at Uppingham's Voluntary Aid Detachment Hospital before enlisting on 1 March 1916. He joined the 6th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment and went to the Western Front on 4 August. Just seven weeks later, on 25 September, in an attack on Gueudecourt during the Battle of the Somme, he was badly wounded. His battalion had left Bernafay Wood in the morning, heading to the support line from where the 8th and 9th Leicestershire battalions had started the attack and had suffered heavy casualties, including his brother John who had been killed. By the end of the day, men from the 6th Battalion were occupying Bull Road Trench and Pioneer Trench where they were heavily shelled during the night. According to Fred's service record, at some point during the day he was shot in the back, the bullet passing through his spine which paralysed him. Fred was evacuated to England but died in the Red Cross Hospital at Netley, Hampshire, on 12 October 1916. His body was brought home to Ayston where he was buried in the churchyard four days later. Fred and John are both remembered on Ayston's war memorial inside the church.

See where all our Rutland soldiers died during the Battle of the Somme on our interactive map.