George Raymond Dallas Moor
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George Raymond Dallas Moor (VC, MC and bar) (22 October 1896–3 November 1918) was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Born in Australia and educated at Cheltenham College, Moor was 18 years old, and a second lieutenant attached to the 2nd Battalion, The Hampshire Regiment, British 29th Division, during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
Moor's citation in the London Gazette, 24 July 1915 reads:
- "On 5 June 1915 south of Krithia, Gallipoli, Turkey, when a detachment of the battalion which had lost all its officers was rapidly retiring before a heavy Turkish attack, Second Lieutenant Moor, realising the danger to the rest of the line, dashed back some 200 yards, stemmed the retirement, led back the men and recaptured the lost trench. This brave act saved a dangerous situation."
The action actually took place early on 6 June during the Turkish counter-attack following the Third Battle of Krithia. Moor "stemmed the retirement" by shooting four of his own men. In the words of the 29th Division's commander General Henry de Lisle, Moor shot "the leading four men and the remainder came to their senses."
Moor later achieved the rank of lieutenant and was killed in action, Mouveaux, France, on 3 November 1918.
His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum & Memorial Garden, Winchester, England.
[edit] References
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- VCs of the First World War - Gallipoli (Stephen Snelling, 1995)