Henry Moore wins DSO (1916)

Post date: Feb 24, 2014 12:42:43 PM

Henry Moore was not connected with the village during WWI but came to Wateringbury in 1951 as Admiral Sir Henry Ruthven Moore to live at The Beck until his death in 1978. The following is, with acknowledgement and thanks, a biography of him written by Ian McLennan, whose mother used to work for him. The notes to the text are my own.

Henry Moore was born in Ireland in 1886⁸. His father, a cavalry colonel, was anxious that his son should follow a career in the army. It took lengthy, patient and closely reasoned negotiation before he was finally able to convince his father that a naval career was at least equal to one in the army and that this was indeed his true vocation, Already he was showing considerable diplomatic ability which was to become a feature of his later career.

Educated at Sherborne¹⁰ he entered the training establishment, HMS Britannia in 1902 and went to sea as a midshipman in 1903. One of his early postings was to China. Here he struck up a very good relationship with his commanding officer who had been presented by the Chinese with a sandy coloured horse which was kept at the British shore base. Due to a combination of its colour and evil temperament it was known amongst the naval personnel as "the yellow peril". Henry Moore earned the respect and gratitude of his commanding officer by his skill in riding and exercising this horse (perhaps his father was right - he should have joined the cavalry!).

He chose to specialise in navigation as this was a position that ensured you were amongst the few on the ship who knew where you were, and usually why. He would recount fascinating tales of naval exercises out of the home fleet base in Scapa Flow in the Orkneys. A classic exercise consisted of locating Rockall in the stormy waters of the North Atlantic (navigation) - then shelling it (gunnery).

One of his posts during the First World War was navigation officer aboard the light cruiser HMS Castor¹. This ship was the flag ship to the destroyer flotillas at Jutland and sustained heavy damage during the chaotic night actions following the main clash of fleets during the afternoon and evening of 31st May 1916. He was awarded the DSO² for his services at Jutland.

Between the two wars, in addition to the command of several Royal Navy vessels, he began to develop an administrative and diplomatic career. He was Naval Assistant Secretary to the Committee of Imperial Defence from 1921 to 1924. After a course at the Imperial Defence College he served with the British delegation at the Geneva disarmament conference. From 1930 to 1933 he was at the Admiralty as Deputy Director, then director, of Plans. He was Chief of Staff to the Home Fleet (Scapa Flow) from 1936 to 1938 and Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief, Portsmouth from 1938 to 1939. He was appointed CVO in 1937.

At the outbreak of the Second World War he was in command of the 3rd Cruiser Squadron, Mediterranean. In July 1940 he was recalled to the UK to join the Board of Admiralty as an Assistant Chief of Naval Staff becoming Vice Chief of Naval Staff in October 1941. Whilst at the Admiralty he was with the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Dudley Pound, when the fateful decision to scatter the Arctic convoy PQ17 was taken due to the threat of a formidable German surface fleet comprising the battleship Tirpitz, pocket battleships Lutzow and Scheer, the heavy cruiser Hipper and ten destroyers which had been moved to Altenfjord to intercept the Arctic convoys. There was silence amongst the officers present when Sir Dudley Pound announced the decision to scatter⁹. Sir Henry Moore broke the silence by stating that "If the convoy is to scatter it should do so now while it still has sea left in which to manoeuvre." This was a reference to its current vulnerable position in the Barents Sea, approaching the ice pack in the perpetual summer daylight north of the Arctic circle. A large surface fleet including the Tirpitz⁷ did, in fact, put to sea but was recalled after a few hours leaving the attacks to aircraft and submarines. Of the thirty-four merchant ships that sailed, three were lost prior to scattering; twenty-one sunk in the five days following the order and one run aground on the island of Novaya Zemlya⁶.

He was created a Knight Commander of the Bath (KCB) in 1942. In June 1943 he became second-in-command Home Fleet-back again to Scapa Flow, and in command of the 2nd Battle Squadron.

His flagship was the King George V class battleship HMS Anson⁵, launched in 1940 and completed in 1942. This ship was based in the Home Fleet until April 1945 when it left Home waters to join the British Pacific fleet. Whilst in the Home Fleet it was used to escort convoys to Russia and to attack enemy shipping off Norway. After the ship was scrapped in 1957 he acquired the brass nameplate which was laid on the floor like a large doormat inside the entrance hall of "The Beck" (this was returned to the Admiralty following his death in 1978).

Sir Henry Moore is probably best known for his attack on the Tirpitz ⁷on 3rd April 1944. A daring raid by British midget submarines ("X" craft) in 1943 had caused heavy damage to the battleship keeping her out of action during the winter of 1943/44. This now left the Battle Cruiser Scharnhorst

as the only significant enemy surface ship in the northern waters thus enabling the Arctic winter convoys to resume (The Scharnhorst was sunk at the Battle of the North Cape on 26th December 1943) by a force led by his immediate superior the C-in-C Home Fleet, Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser). The Tirpitz finally completed repairs in March 1944 and again posed an enormous threat to allied naval operations from her base at Kaalfjiord near the North Cape.

Sir Henry Moore (now holding the rank of Vice-Admiral) was mentioned in dispatches for distinguished services in the planning, co-ordination and execution of an attack on the Tirpitz at its Norwegian base. This was the largest carrier-borne attack by the Royal Navy. Forty-two Fairey Barracuda dive-bombers took off at dawn on 3rd April 1944 from the flight decks of the two fleet carriers, Victorious and Furious. A swarm of fighter aircraft from the escort carriers Emperor, Searcher, Fencer and Pursuer gave cover to the dive-bombers.

The attack fleet of six carriers and ships from the 2nd Battle Squadron was led by Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Moore from the battleship HMS Anson⁵. The attack was launched at wave-top level from 120 miles to avoid radar detection. Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser, C-in-C of the Home Fleet and overall commander of the operation, provided distant cover some 200 miles off-shore with the 1st Battle Squadron led by a sister ship of the Anson, the battleship Duke of York.

The attack achieved complete surprise. Fourteen bomb hits put the Tirpitz once again out of action. She was never fully repaired and eventually moored at Tromso to act as a shore battery. She was finally destroyed in a raid by 30 Lancasters from the RAF 9 and 617 ("Dam Buster")squadrons.

The extent of the damage inflicted by the carrier raid was not fully realised at the time. Critics implied that the aircraft should have been refuelled and the operation rerun whilst the carrier force was still in position. Sir Henry Moore fiercely defended the decision not to repeat the attack as the Tirpitz would, by then, have been moved, hidden in a smoke screen and all the German defences fully alerted (this was indeed the case!). The likely result of such a rerun would have been the wipe out of the Fleet Air Arm fliers against the extremely unlikely chance of a lucky hit on the Tirpitz.

Later in 1944 he became Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet and was promoted to the rank of Admiral.

His career now took a more diplomatic turn. In November 1945 he was appointed head of the British Admiralty delegation in Washington and shortly afterwards became the naval representative of the British Chiefs of staff on the Military staff committee of the United Nations Security Council being elected chairman at its first meeting. This appointment lasted until 1948³.

He was promoted GCB (Knight Grand Cross of the Bath) in 1946 and the United States Government made him a Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit.

His final appointment from 1948 to 1950 was Commander-in-Chief, The Nore¹¹, based at Chatham. This area covers the Thames estuary, spreading out to the coasts of Belgium, Holland and Denmark. In parallel with this command he was also First and Principal Naval ADC to King George VI.

Wateringbury, Kent

Sir Henry's first wife, Katherine whom he married in 1908, died in 1945. They had a daughter who married in the United States and a son, Hugh, who followed his father into the Royal Navy. Hugh was navigation officer aboard the battleship HMS Duke of York when she anchored in Tokyo Bay as the Japanese surrendered to General MacArthur on the decks of the American battleship USS Missouri.

Sir Henry's second marriage was in 1948 to Catherine Wilkinson, widow of Vice-Admiral T.S. Wilkinson, United States Navy. Together, during his last appointment as C-in-C, the Nore they developed a great affection for this area of Kent and decided to search for a home in which to start civilian life on Sir Henry's retirement. Eventually their choice was narrowed down to two properties: Puttenden Manor in Dunk's Green and "The Beck" (including cottage and Mews) in Wateringbury. There was no real contest. Although Puttenden Manor was the more imposing residence Sir Henry was completely captivated by the garden at "The Beck" with streams entering at either side and merging further down. They moved in during 1951.

He very quickly became actively engaged in local affairs and in the Parish Church. He became a sidesman and member of the Church Council. He frequently read the lessons. He felt strongly that any public address, especially a sermon, should not last any longer than an absolute maximum of ten minutes. As the Reverend Henderson launched into his Sunday sermons from the pulpit Sir Henry would carefully note the time. After some eight minutes gentle coughing noises would signal a polite warning. Should these be ignored they were replaced some two minutes later by a somewhat louder "hurrumphing" sound signalling that double figures had been reached. The unfortunate vicar would then be admonished when the service was over and the congregation leaving.

His enthusiasm for local affairs soon turned towards the Royal British Legion Village at Aylesford. He served for many years on the Preston Hall Management Committee and the Legion industries Board. Up to the time of his death he was Patron of the Village. In recognition of his long term services to the Royal British Legion Village one of the roads is named Admiral Moore Drive.

His interest in County matters led him to become a Deputy Lieutenant for Kent in 1957 and High Sheriff of the County in 1959-60.

Over and above all the local and County involvement⁴ his life was now devoted to his home, especially the garden. Working on the principle that it should never be possible to view all the garden from one spot he arranged a variety of aspects including a quiet area complete with pool;a very beautiful area in the far corner with a rather different and distinctly Japanese air (in later years this became his favourite) and a large vegetable and soft fruit garden so immaculately laid out that it seemed like an act of vandalism to remove the vegetables. The siting of these different areas was mainly determined by the courses of the two streams joining in the garden (next to the Japanese area) and passing on through down to the Mill Pond at the end of Mill Lane.

"The Admiral" as he was generally known in Wateringbury, was of short slender build with penetrating blue eyes. He spoke softly but very precisely, loved company and was genuinely interested in meeting people from all walks of life. It has been said that he modelled himself on Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, C-in-C of the Grand fleet at Jutland.

He was legendary for his scruffy appearance when gardening (which was most of daylight hours). On at least two occasions his appearance gave rise to warnings of a tramp on the premises.

Once he was spotted from a distance entering the Church to fulfil one or other of his sidesman's duties. A well meaning phone call brought the Reverend Hendeson hastening down from the Vicarage (then opposite the butcher's in the Tonbridge Road) to prevent pillaging of the Church artefacts. On a similar occasion Lady Moore received a phone call to alert her to the fact that a tramp had been observed "breaking into the Garden by a side entrance". Lady Moore replied "I'm afraid that was my husband - he lives here."

When not being mistaken for a tramp his appearance could still elicit sympathy. He liked to recount how he was once stopped by two men working on the Tonbridge Road whilst he was walking to the village. "Are you going down to the shops old man? "one asked. On receiving an affirmative reply he continued , "here's five shillings, please get me twenty (brand of cigarettes) and keep the change for going. This would have been about 6d. (two and a half pence). He duly returned with the cigarettes and informed the workman that this was probably the one and only time that he had sent a former C-in-C of the Home Fleet to do his shopping. He kept the sixpence.

Sir Henry did not drive. There is a very sharp bend opposite "Beck Mews" and emerging by car can be quite hazardous. When going out with Lady Moore he would assist her to get the car out of "Beck Mews" by standing in the Tonbridge Road and stopping a traffic with a red flag. Lady Moore was then able to drive out safely, turn right and park in the lay-by outside the Church. He would then join her in the car. Pulling away from the lay-by must have been influenced by the Admiral's navy days. Lady Moore would build up the revs of the Austin Westminster to a shattering crescendo then let go the clutch which would catapult them from the lay-by like an aircraft launched from a carrier deck.

Personal tragedy struck in the mid-1970s. Whilst working with his gardener on the construction of a rock garden, a large boulder being manoeuvred into position accidentally fell, crushing one of his feet. Surgeons were optimistic that the foot could be saved. However, following surgery, possibly due to his age (he was now in his late late eighties), there appeared to be problems preventing the wound from healing. Whilst he was still very slowly recovering a major ceremony for The Order of the Bath was scheduled to be held in the Henry VII Chapel in Westminster Abbey. Sir Henry was a Knight Grand Cross of the Order (GCB) and also, as one of the most senior of the GCBs, had his own allocated stall in the Chapel complete with his personal standard hung above. Despite pleas from both his wife and son, and contrary to his doctor's advice he insisted upon attending. The strain of the arduous day on his injured foot proved too much. The painfully slow healing was reversed, gangrene set in and at the age of eighty-eight his leg had to be amputated below the knee.

He was fitted with an artificial limb and occasionally managed brief walks around the house and along the patio although his mobility henceforth was mainly limited to a wheelchair. He would sometimes reflect on the irony of having seen active service in both World Wars and got through "without even a scratch" and was now finally laid up as a result of gardening.

Not long following the amputation he appeared at the Royal British Legion Village for a visit of Her Majesty the Queen to whom he and Lady Moore were presented. For the most part however, he now remained at home in "The Beck" where he directed a band of both regular and contract gardeners to keep the garden exactly as he wanted. Any able bodied visitor was pressed into service to wheel him round the garden in all but the most inclement of weather (he seemed to be aware of every individual plant, shrub and tree). When he was not able to get out he spent many hours looking out on the garden and watching the birds. Cats were not welcome in the garden as they were assumed to be after the birds. If he spotted a feline intruder he would make a swift telephone call to Mrs. McLellan in "Beck Cottage"- "there is a cat in the garden, would you please send Victor to talk to it". Victor was a seven and a half stone Alsatian dog who shared the Admiral's sentiments on cats. He would enter the garden like a fighting bull at a Spanish corrida and hurl himself in the cat's direction (cat lovers please note - he never got one!). The cat would hastily disappear, so also would the birds and the Admiral would thoroughly enjoy the spectacle which was about as near to hunting as he was then able to get.

At home he would delight in showing visitors three of his most treasured possessions: a book on the "O'Moore's", a genealogy work on his ancestors (he was immensely proud of his Irish roots); an historical volume by Sir Winston Churchill personally inscribed "To my dear Admiral Moore" and a signed photograph of King George VI in a heavy silver frame. Regular visitors would note that King George was for ever moving around the room: an indication, perhaps that the picture was frequently picked up, contemplated and triggered many memories.

He maintained a great interest in the Royal Navy, closely followed the TV news and enjoyed both music (anything from Top of the Pops to Verdi operas) and sport. Sport acquired a special edge where Britain was matched against the United States. The family divided, father and son for Britain - Lady Moore cheering on the USA.

His health deteriorated very sharply early in 1978. After a brief spell in hospital he returned home where he died some two weeks later on 12th March. Lady Moore received the following telegram from the Queen on 14th March:-

I send my deepest sympathy to you and your family in your tragic loss. Your husband's loyal service to King George VI will always be remembered. Elizabeth R.

He was cremated at Vinters Park at a small service restricted to family. His ashes were subsequently scattered by Lady Moore in his beloved garden at "The Beck".

On 22nd March a service of thanksgiving was held at Wateringbury Parish Church which was attended by many local residents together with a large contingent from The Royal British Legion. The latter provided a very smart and impressive guard of honour at the entrance to the church.

On 27th April a formal thanksgiving service, organised by the Ministry of Defence, was held in St. Martin-in-the-Fields on the east side of Trafalgar Square. This was an official Royal Navy occasion. Attendance was by invitation only and guests were treated to the honour of having the Royal Navy guard, lining both sides of the approach to the church doors, brought to attention as they ascended the steps (a rare thrill for civilians).

The estate passed to Sir Henry's son and daughter and, as previously stated was split into three smaller properties and sold. Lady Moore returned to the United States where she had property in Washington. Alas, in her own words"-it's been a rather sad return". Washington had changed enormously in the thirty years she had been away. Many of her old friends had moved or died or were very "wobbly". Lady Moore passed away a few months after the death of her husband and her return to the USA.

During the twenty-seven years in which they lived in Wateringbury Sir Henry and Lady Moore were very much a part of the local community. They shopped in the village. Lady Moore always kept "fish sticks" (fish fingers) in the freezer. The Admiral used the village shop as his bank to change cheques, always telephoning beforehand to ask if this would be acceptable. On his walks to the shops he welcomed the opportunity to stop and chat to anyone he met who could spare the time. His involvement with the Parish Church, the County and with the Royal British Legion brought him into regular contact with a great many local people.

Having been so close to some of the major events of the twentieth century his years here in Wateringbury have enriched the village and brought these events just that little bit closer to us all. A simple stone plaque, just to the left as one enters the Church door, serves as a permanent reminder of this outstanding naval officer and warm friend to the people of our village.

Notes.

1. HMS Castor was built by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead and commissioned in November 1915. It displaced 3,750 tonnes, carried 4x 6 inch guns with a crew of 323 of whom 10 were causalities at the battle. For photos more including photos of ship and damage from battle see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Castor_(1915).

2. DSO or Distinguished Service Order was awarded to officers only. In WW1 there were 9,002 such awards.

3. In January 1948 he addressed the Newcomen Society in New York and a booklet was published of his speech entitled "The British and American Navies. Their Common Heritage and Traditions."

4. See also Admiral Sir Henry Moore and MGS for his work with Maidstone Grammar school Combined Cadet Force.

5. HMS Anson had a displacement of 42,300 tonnes and a wartime complement of 1,900 men. It had 10 x 14 inch guns as well as 16 x QF 5.25 inch. It carried Two Supermarine Walrus seaplanes.

6. PQ17: there are many accounts of this episode. A recent one is in Hugh Sebag- Montefiore 's book Enigma pp 230-245 which brings attention to the partial blackout of Naval Enigma intelligence during the run-up to the scattering of the convoy.

7. Tirpitz: launched April 1939; commissioned February 1941; had a displacement of 42,900 tonnes and a complement of 2,065 men. It had 8 x 15 inch guns as well as 12 x 5.9 inch. It was finally sunk in November 1944 by Lancaster bombers with 12,000 lb. "tallboy" bombs.

8. DoB according to his naval service record was 29-8-86.

9. Decision to scatter PQ17 was on 4th July 1942.

10. Sherborne-see Admiral Moore.

11. Commander-in-Chief, The Nore is a naval command that existed from 1752 until it was abolished in 1961. The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the Medway. As C-in-C, The Nore he would have lived in Chatham Dockyard near the marine barracks (HMS Pembroke).