MOORE, Montagu Shadworth Seymour
Second Lieutenant. 15th Battalion. Hampshire Regiment. *
London Gazetted on 8th November 1917.
Born on 9th October 1896 at Bournemouth, Hampshire.
Died on 12th September, 1966 at Kugenzo, Kenya.
He was cremated and his ashes were strewn in a Tanganyikan game park.
Digest of Citation reads:
A final objective that had yet to be captured needed a fresh attack to be put into operation. On 20th August 1917, near Tower Hamlets, on the east side of Ypres, Second Lieutenant Moore at once volunteered to lead a party of 70 men in this venture. As they dashed forward they encountered very heavy machine-gun fire from the flank., causing many casualties, which resulted in his arrival at the objective, 500 yards forward, with only one sergeant and four men. They at once bombed the large dug-out, taking 28 prisoners and capturing two machine guns and a light field gun. Shortly after, a party of about 60 officers and men arrived in support. His position was entirely isolated, owing to the fact that the troops to his right had not advanced. Digging a trench, he and his men managed to repel further bombing attacks throughout the night. They were forced to retire a short distance the following morning. At the first opportunity he reoccupied his position. Most of his party's weapons had been smashed as they repelled the enemy counter-attacks, but he managed to rearm them with enemy rifles and bombs, and continued to hold the position for 36 hour, all the while being continually shelled. When his force was reduced to 10 men, all that were left of six officers and 130 men who had begun the operation he was forced to retire. He managed to evacuate the position, under the cover of a thick mist, having first got away his wounded personnel.
* Royal Hampshire Regiment.
Additional information: Major Moore worked as a game ranger in 1926 for 18 years, when he became a game warden in Tanganyika until 1951.