George Raymond Dallas Moor VC MC Bar (1896 - 1918)

Ancestors

Biography

George Raymond Dallas Moor VC MC & Bar was born on 22nd October 1896 at Pollington Street, St Kilda, Victoria (Australia); at the home of his mother's sister. ^[1] He was the son of William Moor, retired auditor-general of Transvaal, and Eva Pender, and nephew of the late Sir Ralph Moor, formerly High Commissioner for Southern Nigeria. The family returned to England shortly afterward. George was educated at Cheltenham College.

Upon the outbreak of the First World War, George was commissioned into the 3rd Battalion, the Hampshire Regiment, and was granted a regular commission on 1st August 1915. After six months' training in England and Egypt, he deployed with the 2nd Battalion to the Dardanelles, and was at the landing at V Beach at Gallipoli on 25th April 1915. Immediately 'marking his mark' George was awarded the Victoria Cross, when he was yet but eighteen years of age. The honour was gazetted in London on 24th July 1915; the citation for which read: "For most conspicuous bravery and resource on the 5th June 1915, during operations South of Krithia, Dardanelles. When a detachment of a battalion on his left, which had lost all its officers, was rapidly retiring before a heavy Turkish attack, Second Lieutenant Moor immediately grasping the danger to the remainder of the line, dashed back some two hundred yards, stemmed the retirement, led back the men, and recaptured the lost trench. This young officer who only joined the Army in October 1914, by his personal bravery and presence of mind saved a dangerous situation."^[2]

George was invalided home soon afterwards suffering from dysentery, a common disease in the squalor of the trenches. After recovering, he joined the 1st Battalion in France and was badly wounded in the arm. He was repatriated to England. Whilst recuperating, George was appointed aide-de-camp to Major General W de L Williams in France. Back with his regiment, he was promoted to Lieutenant on 30th October 1916 and, for a further act of gallantry on the battlefield, was awarded the Military Cross; the citation for which, gazetted in London 2nd December 1918, read: "Lieutenant George Raymond Dallas Moor, V.C., Hampshire Regiment. For conspicuous gallantry and skill. He carried out a daylight reconnaissance all along the divisional front in face of heavy machine-gun fire at close range, in many places well in front of our foremost posts."

The award of second Military Cross, issued in the form of a Bar to his original Military Cross, was promulgated in the London Gazette on 29th July 1919, reading: "On 20th October 1918, near to Pijpestraat, the vanguard commander was wounded and unable to carry on. Owing to heavy shelling and machine-gun fire, the vanguard came to a standstill. Lieut. Moor, acting General Staff Officer, who was reconnoitring the front, noticed this; he immediately took charge, and by his fearless example and skilful leading continued the advance until the objective was reached. He has a positive contempt for danger, and distinguishes himself on every occasion." Both the Military Cross and Bar were presented to his family posthumously.

George Moor VC MC & Bar, having surpassed everything the military enemy had thrown at him for four long years, succumbed to the horrific epidemic of Spanish influenza at Mouvaux, France, on 3rd November 1918, just eight days prior to the Armistice. He is buried in the Y Farm Military Cemetery, Bois-Grenier, a memorial of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ Victoria Birth Index #31298/1896
2. ↑ London Gazette 23 July 1915 Supplement: 29240 Page: 7282; accessed 15 Jun 2019
3. ↑ Commonwealth War Graves Commission; accessed 24 Aug 2022

See also

• Wikipedia profile: George Moor; accessed 15 Jun 2019.