Maurice Sidney Moore (1918 - 2012)

Born 17 Mar 1918 in Devon, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 24 Jan 2012 at age 93 in Kent, England, United Kingdom

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Jane Moore [send private message]

Biography

Sid was born in 1918, a post war baby, to the delight of his parents and his older sister Roma. After Sid finished his schooling he attended technical college studying Electrical Engineering. On completion of this course he worked in radio repair. At the start of the war Sid volunteered for the RAF, was classed as a Wireless and Electrical Mechanic (WEM) and was sent out to RAF Kumalo, near Bulawayo in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to maintain their Beam Approach System which was used in training the colonial pilots. The journey to RAF Kumalo consisted of a sea voyage to Cape Town followed by a long train journey up to Southern Rhodesia. Sid was demobbed in 1942 after a warning flare misfired and damaged his arm. On Sid's return to England he missed Africa (and the golf) and wanted to return. He met with Roy Welensky in London and was assured that his skills were required in Rhodesia. Returning to Africa Sid chose to live in the Highlands of Northern Rhodesia, the Copperbelt. After a short period of working on radio repair, where he met and married Doreen, Sid joined the newly formed Rhokana Copperbelt Power Company (later the Copperbelt Power Company) and he, and his family, lived in Kitwe. Sid continued his studies became a Member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers, and was made Head of Department for the CPC 'Light Division' in the early 1960s. Sid joined the Nkana Golf Club and played twice a week for the remainder of his time in Kitwe. He had a handicap of 10 when he became a Senior Golfer. Sid was a keen photographer and took to the various photographic innovations, moving from black and white photography to ciné film, to colour photography, slides and, finally, digital photography. Sid's colour slide entitled 'Ducks in Autumn' (taken in Kew Gardens) won the Andrew Hayward Prize. On his retirement from CPC in the late 1970s, Sid and Doreen moved back to England where he worked as a consultant for CPC until he retired. Sid had always been a good draftsman, often drawing pictures for Doreen to use in her knitting, and he now took up painting in acrylics. Sid mainly painted from photographs that he had taken, augmented by his memories of the various places, particularly Torquay beaches and the Dartmoor. Sid passed away in 2012 and is remembered by his family and friends for his sense of humour, his quick intelligence and his love of golf.

Sources

• Elizabeth Moore (daughter)