John William Godfray (1850-1921) was the son of John William Godfray and Matilda, nee Le Gallais. He was born in Jersey on 20 October 1850 and educated at Victoria College, Cheltenham College and Sandhurst. He joined the army at the age of 21 and was promoted to Captain in 1879.
Service in Jersey
From 1882-1888 he was Quartermaster-General in Jersey, having been detailed to assist in the reorganisation of the Militia. He was promoted Major in 1888 and then he left his regiment for a period to serve as Deputy Judge-Advocate in India and Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General in Cyprus. Rejoining the King's Own Scottish Borderers in 1895 he was second in command for the Chitral Relief Expedition in the extreme north-west of India.
Boer War
In 1898 he took command of the Borderers and led them to South Africa where they fought in the Boer War until it ended in 1902. Godfray took part in Lord Roberts' march to Bloemfontein, and in 1900 was appointed Chief Staff Officer to the Seventh Division in Pretoria.
He served in Scotland until 1908, when he returned to Jersey as Assistant Adjutant General of the Militia, a post he held until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. He served through the war in Jersey, and died there in 1921.
He married Annie Julia Muntz and they had one son, John Charles Lerrier Godfray, in 1882
