A liaison with an Indian lady named Kudidje, the daughter of a Muslim landowner of Poonch, probably a Sudhan, may have begun as early as 1855, and this led to the birth on 5 May 1857 of a son who was named Edward. Another source says that Edward was born at Sialkot on 15 March 1859. The relationship is seen by one biographer as probably an obstacle to Godwin-Austen's advancement in India. In April 1857 Godwin-Austen was posted to Kashmir. In June 1858 he married Kudidje in a ceremony near Budrawar, from the British point of view the marriage was legal as it satisfied Muslim conditions. It was, however, undesirable. In November 1858, Godwin-Austen was seriously injured in an attack near Udhampur which left him unconscious, and in April 1859 he took a year's home leave, joining the second Battalion of his regiment, the 24th Foot, in England. While there, he became a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.