Ernest Moore

Men who have answered their country’s call in defence of a “Scrap of Paper”

Ernest Moore is named on the Roll of Honour, which hangs in St Peter & St Paul’s Church, Little Gaddesden and lists 119 men from Little Gaddesden, Ringshall and Hudnall who served in the 1914 – 1918 War. His entry reads: Moore Ernest, 8th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment; he is similarly shown on the Centenary Revision of the Roll.

Rolls of Honour photos: Jane Dickson, Michael Carver

The Belton Roll of Honour

Ernest Moore is one of seven men named on the original Roll of Honour for Little Gaddesden who are also named on the Roll of Honour in St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Belton. All these men were servants of Lord Brownlow, who owned Ashridge House in Hertfordshire and Belton House near Grantham. The other men named on both Rolls are: Harold Catt, Walter Darby, Frank Dove, Matthew Fowler, Herbert Jacobs and Mark Kinchington (recorded Kisington at Belton). Herbert Flowers and Rupert Flowers, whose father was Lord Brownlow’s Coachman, are named on the Belton Roll and have been added to the Centenary Revision of the Little Gaddesden Roll. The Belton Roll lists only the men’s names, not their units.

Possible Contenders

Although we cannot be certain who this man was, three possible contenders who served in the Lincolnshire Regiment are listed below. However, none of these men is listed in the 8th Battalion. An added complication to identifying the right man is that, for many men, their battalion and sometimes their regiment/ corps changed during the First World War.  

1) 10251 Private Alfred Ernest Moore, 6th (Service) Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment ^{1, 2, 3, 4}

In some ways this man seems the most likely, but the evidence is purely circumstantial.

Alfred Ernest Moore was born at Mowsley near Market Harborough, Leicestershire. He was the son of Thomas Moore, a Gardener and Selina née Roach and the family lived at Main Street, Mowsley. His attestation paper of 26th August 1914 gives his age as 25 years and 15 days, indicating a date of birth of 11th August 1889.

His siblings were:

• Gertrude Mabel, born 29th June 1878
• Alice Beatrice, b. 2nd June 1880 (died aged 2 years)
• Charles Edwin, born in 1882
• Frank, born in 1885/6 (died aged 10 years)
• Frederick born in 1892 (died as an infant)
• Thomas Arthur born in 1895 (died as an infant)

Employment and Military Service

Alfred Ernest Moore’s attestation paper states that he was a Footman and that he attested at Grantham. However, his 1914 employer’s name is not given. In the 1911 Census, he was a Footman in the household of Oliver Ormrod of Pickhill Hall, Wrexham.

Alfred Ernest Moore attested for the Lincolnshire Regiment at Grantham on 26^th August 1914. He was 6 feet 4½ inches tall, weighed 174 pounds and had a 38½ inch chest. He also had a fair complexion, brown eyes and brown hair. His physical development was ‘good’ and he was considered fit for the army.

On 28th August 1914, he was appointed Private, Service number 10251 and posted to the Battalion Depot at Lincoln. Then, on 10th September 1914, he joined the 6th Battalion at Grantham. However, on 19^th October 1914, he was discharged from the Army “not being likely to become an efficient soldier” under paragraph 392 iii of the King’s Regulations. His Application for Discharge stated that he had an Inguinal (abdominal) Hernia and that he was “Totally unfit. Unable to march or perform the duties required of a soldier”. The address of the Officer transmitting the return was Belton Park, Grantham.

It is possible that, like Victor Collier and Bertie Purton he was subsequently recalled to serve, but no records have been found to substantiate that.

2) 45530 Private Ernest Moore, Lincolnshire Regiment, later 24910 Labour Corps and 63650 Prince of Wales’s Volunteers (South Lancashire) Regiment ⁵

He was awarded the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal. However, only his Medal Rolls have been found so it is not possible to establish other details of his family or life.

3) 18537 Private Alfred Ernest Moore, 4th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment ⁵

He also served in the 1st Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment and was awarded the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal. Only his Medal Rolls have been found so it is not possible to establish other details of his family or life.

A Man who can be discounted

Little Gaddesden’s Ernest Moore is not named on the War Memorial in Little Gaddesden or in Belton, so we can conclude that he survived the War. The man below can be discounted because he was killed in action.

496 Sergeant Thomas Ernest Moore, 10th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment ⁶

Thomas Ernest Moore was killed in action aged 25 on 1st July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial Pier and Face 1C

He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. P. T. Moore, of “The Rest”, Old Clee Road, Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire and the husband of Letty Mary Goodman (formerly Moore), of 6, Abercorn Rd., Earlsdon, Coventry.

Further Information

If you have any information that might help us to identify the Ernest Moore commemorated on the Rolls of Honour in Little Gaddesden and Belton, please email Jane Dickson at war-remembrance@littlegaddesdenchurch.org.uk.

References

1. https://www.findmypast.co.uk England & Wales births 1837-2006 Transcriptions

2. https://www.findmypast.co.uk Leicestershire Baptisms, Mowsley

3. https://www.findmypast.co.uk 1891 – 1911 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcriptions 

4. https://www.findmypast.co.uk British Army Service Records

5. https://www.ancestry.co.uk  British Army WW1 Medal Rolls Index Cards 1914-1920

6. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1545538/THOMAS%20ERNEST%20MOORE/