Royal Artillery in 1897. As a young officer, Lionel fought in the Second Boer War, was wounded in the siege of Ladysmith and was mentioned in dispatches. He also served in the First World War, and was wounded in 1917 and again mentioned in dispatches. He remained hospitalised for his wounds until 1921. In 1923, he married Isabel Higgon, née Denroche-Smith, a widow of Archie Higgon, who had been killed in action in 1915. Isobel's family home was near Alyth, North Perthshire, and her father had been a civil servant in Bengal. Robert was brought up at the Goff home in Monk Sherborne, Hampshire. He had a closer relationship with his mother than his father. Lionel's principal interests were in fishing, hunting, shooting and riding, and he did not share his son's passion for music. Likewise, Robert did not share his father's interests, and gave up shooting after he turned eighteen. Goff attended a dame school in Basingstoke until he was eight. Thereafter, he attended St Aubyns School, Rottingdean, and started at Eton College in September 1939, at the beginning of the Second World War. While at Eton, he focused on classical languages and history, preferring these to science subjects. There, Henry Ley, an organist who had played at the coronation of King George VI, encouraged his love for the piano and taught him to play. He left Eton in December 1944, having received a deferred offer of admission to New College, Oxford, for after he completed his military service. Military service In December 1944, towards the end of the Second World War, Goff was called up for service with the British Army and was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Scots Guards. His service number was 354970. He trained for battle in the Far East, having been told that he would be deployed there in September 1945. Following the surrender of Japan in August 1945, these plans were cancelled. Instead, Goff spent some time on guard duty at Windsor Castle, and then volunteered to serve in the force being sent to Italy to counter Marshal Tito, where he remained until July 1948. During this period, he spent his leave travelling and exploring northern Italy, skiing, and pursuing cultural interests, while introducing the men under his command to them. On occasion, he would combine setting up communications posts with visits with his men to see Italian art, including Michelangelo's