Hi James,
As you know, I have tried to reply to your query via the BAA Forum, but every time I reached this post, the website logged me out! Don’t know what the problem was, but it only affected your post, so I replied via e-mail. However, things seem to be working today, so in case others are interested, here is my response:
As far as I am aware there is no link between Robert and Walter, but it certainly merits further investigation and I shall be very interested in what you discover. There is an entry on Walter G. in the Biographical Dictionary of Astronomers, but personal information is sparse (see below). There is also an obituary by W.H. Steavenson in the MNRAS, 99(4), 1939. pp. 310-11, but again it gives little away about Walter’s personal life: born in Loughborough in 1856, moved to Finsbury Park when he was seven, joined his father’s business (William Goodacre & Sons) on leaving school, married Frances Elizabeth Evison in 1883.
I think you will have to go to ancestry.co.uk to investigate further, if you have not done so already.
Sorry not to have more concrete leads.
Very best,
Bill
PS: here is the relevant passage from the Biographical Dictionary:
“Goodacre was born at Loughborough, but in 1863 the family moved to London, where his father founded a carpet manufacturing business.Walter Goodacre established a branch of the family business in India and visited there frequently for 15 years. He succeeded his father as head of the firm in London, remaining in that position until his retirement in 1929.”