Henry Arthur Goddard, CMG, DSO (13 December 1869 – 24 October 1955) was an Australian Army colonel and temporary brigadier general in the First World War.

Following the outbreak of the First World War, he joined the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) after being in charge of the defences of Brisbane, where he lived.

Henry Arthur Goddard was born in West Hackney, Middlesex, England on 13 December 1869, the son of an insurance clerk.

Despite the move to Australia, he remained interested in the military and in November 1899 he was commissioned into the Queensland Defence Force,[1] serving as a lieutenant in the Moreton Regiment.

On gaining medical clearance, he left for Gallipoli on the Southland; the ship was torpedoed en route on 2 September.

[1] When the 17th Battalion arrived at Alexandria on 4 January 1916 after a short period at Lemnos, it proceeded to Tell El Kebir, a training centre for the AIF, four days later.

[1] He left for the United Kingdom on 1 August, sailing from Melbourne on board HMAT Miltiades, a troop transport.

On occasions during the second half of 1917 he led the 9th Brigade on an acting basis while its regular commander, Brigadier General Charles Rosenthal, was absent.

For his leadership at Messines, Goddard was mentioned in despatches and awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in the 1918 New Year Honours.

During the German spring offensive that commenced in late March, the 9th Brigade was moved forward to reinforce the defences in front of Villers-Bretonneux.

[2] On return to civilian life, he took up residence in Sydney and resumed his importing business, in which he was joined by his son Horace.

He was also honorary colonel of the 17th Infantry Battalion, which he had commanded at Gallipoli, and served as president of the Imperial Service Club for a number of years.

He died at the Concord Repatriation Hospital in Sydney on 24 October 1955, survived by his wife Elizabeth, who he had married in 1897, and two of the couple's three children.