F/O G E GOODMAN No 73 Sqn 14/06/41

[Bernard]

Good morning,

I would like to know about the circumstances of the death of F/O G E Goodman ( 42598 ) flying with No 73 Squadron on the 14th of June 1941.

Many thanks.

Bernard.

[JohnE]

Goodman led a flight of 6 Hurricanes to strafe Gazala airfield, but they ran into heavy flak, three of them being shot down. (A/c: Z4507)

Source: Hurricanes over Tobruk

/John

[Bernard]

Many thanks to you John !

Bernard.

[gedburke3]

Hi Bernard,
Is this the same George Goodman that flew with 1 Squadron during the Battle of Britain?
I think he has often been wrongly listed as Palestinian.
Gerry

[Amrit1]

Originally Posted by gedburke3

Hi Bernard,
Is this the same George Goodman that flew with 1 Squadron during the Battle of Britain?
I think he has often been wrongly listed as Palestinian.
Gerry

Hi Gerry

It is the same Goodman. I'm intrigued as to why you think he was wrongly listed as Palestinian? He was born in Haifa, in the then named Palestine, but he was Jewish. This may confuse modern readers who forget that Israel hadn't been established then

A

[Franek Grabowski]

Goodman was British born in Palestine and CoE, that is what Gerry is trying to say. There is a website on Jewish airmen in the Battle of Britain by a certain Martin Sugarman, but at least in regard of Polish airmen it is an utter lie!

[gedburke3]

Hi Amrit,
Yes Franek is 100% correct.
Goodman, though born in Haifa (his parents were working there), was CofE.
I am aware of the Martin Sugarman claims on a different site, whilst I am unaware of any other inaccuracies certainly the comments made in relation to George Goodman are wide of the mark.
Gerry

[Franek Grabowski]

Gerry, there was a discussion about Tuck, his family denying any Jewish links.
Concerning Polish airmen, it seems major source seems the work of Benjamin Maiertchak listing all the fallen Polish soldiers of Jewish descent. The problem is that plenty of the names cannot be confirmed.
Of the airmen listed I have contacted family of Zygmunt Klein, and they clearly denied any Jewish links, the man being RC himself. A friend approached family of Marceli Neyder, also listed Jewish (albeit for some reason not by Sugarman), and the reply was exactly the same.
Another airman, Franciszek Jastrzebski, is listed as possibly Jewish due to his name, but it is perfectly Polish.
I cannot comment on Jan Piotr Pfeiffer, but I have found no positive proof, and I have a list of over 100 Polish airmen of Jewish faith.
Mentioned in the article Ryszard Bychowski, Zygmunt Glass, Rubin Lipszyc and Eljasz Posner indeed were Jewish but as they have served in bomber squadrons, they do not qualify for a BoB list. This is also the issue with many of the Britons listed! That said, it is intriguing, why he did not bother to list German airmen of Jewish origin, that would make a nice comparison.