William’s occupation and marital status on enlistment was detailed as an engine driver / dresser striker, who was single.
- Date of Birth – 1889. Enlistment papers give William’s birth place as Araluen, although his birth was registered in Myrtleford VIC.1Victoria Birth Death and Marriages, https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/ Birth 33624/1889 Moore William, Parents William Angus and Rose Parslow, Registered in Myrtleford. Accessed 24 March 2024.
- Parents – William Angus Moore and Rose Eleanor Parslow.2Commonwealth War Graves, https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/721519/william-moore/ [Noted as the Son of William Angus and Rose Eleanor Moore, of Harrietville, Victoria]. Accessed 24 March 2024.
- Enlisted at Goulburn on 27 July 1915, and nominated his age as 25 years. William embarked from Sydney, on board HMAT A17 Port Lincoln on 13 October 1915.3University of NSW AIF project – https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=213258. Accessed 24 March 2024.
- Regimental Number – SERN 3393.4National Archives of Australia. https://www.naa.gov.au/. NAA: B2455, Moore, William, Item ID – 3006903. Accessed 24 March 2024.
- Aged at embarkation – 25 years
- Military service – 4th Battalion, 11th Reinforcement. 53rd Infantry Battalion.
Rank – Private.
Served at the Western Front and awarded the British War Medal, and Victory Medal.5Virtual War Memorial Australia, https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/73933 [Birth place given as Myrtleford, Victoria]. Accessed 23 March 2024. - Missing in Action in France 19 July 1916. Court of Enquiry held in the field on 2 September 1917, pronounced fate as ‘Killed in Action, 19 July 1916’.6Australian War Memorial, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1645504. Accessed 24 March 2024.
- Buried at Fromelles Pheasant Wood Military Cemetery, Fromelles, Département du Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France.7Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56348652/william-moore. Accessed 14 July 2026 William Moore’s name is located at Panel 157, on a monument at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.
William was the eldest son of William Angus Moore and Rose Eleanor Parslow, who married in 1889 and had nine children—William; Mary Maude [Maude]; Hugh James [Hughie]; John Henry [Jack]; Emily Annie [Annie]; Rose Margaret [Madge]; Elizabeth Dorothy [Doris]; Catherine Vera [Kitty] and Albert Douglas [Douglas].
In July 1915, the Goulburn Evening Penny Post8Goulburn Evening Penny Post (NSW : 1881-1940), Tuesday 27 July 1915, p 2. reported ‘Seven recruits were put through at the local recruiting office on Monday, and twelve this (Tuesday) morning. All were a fine stamp of men. The following are the names of those who passed the doctor on Monday afternoon, and this (Tuesday) morning: …William Moore (Araluen), Frederick B. Roberts (Araluen).’
On 8 July 1916, the 53rd Battalion began a 30-kilometre march northward toward Fleurbaix in northern France. The Battle of Fromelles took place in France between the Allied-occupied village of Fleurbaix and the German-occupied village of Fromelles, which formed part of the Somme front. A bombardment of German positions started at 11 am on 19 July 1916 before the infantry assault started at around 5:30 pm. While most surviving Allied troops had withdrawn by around 7:50 am on 20 July 1916, the Germans had captured the last troops by 9:20 am. Of more than 5,500 Australian casualties, almost 2,000 were killed in action or died from their wounds and over 400 were captured. It is believed to be the largest loss by a single division in 24 hours in all of World War I.9 Department of Veterans’ Affairs. https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/where-australians-served/western-front/battle-of-fromelles Accessed 13 July 2026
On 19 July 1916 Private William Moore, was reported as Missing in Action in France. Fourteen months later, a Court of Enquiry held in the field on 2 September 1917, pronounced William ‘Killed in Action,’ on the 19 July 1916, somewhere in France.
Captain W.T. Jackson from the 53rd Battalion in February 1917 recounts ‘I knew a W. Moore in B. Company…He was rather tall, fair, rather thickset. He was wounded at Fleurbaix…Moore was nicknamed “Mungeri” which is Arabic for food, as he was always eating’ 10Australian Red Cross Society Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau file No:1DLR0428. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1494337 Accessed 21 June 2026
In September 1916 the Evening News 11Evening News (Sydney, NSW: 1869 – 1931) Wed 13 Sep 1916 Page 4 FOR THEIR COUNTRY reported ‘News has been received that Private William Moore, of Araluen, is missing in France. Private Moore was one of the first soldiers to enlist from the Araluen district.’
The Alpine Observer and North-Eastern Herald12Alpine Observer and North-Eastern Herald (VIC : 1916-1918), Friday 21 September 1917, p 2. reported in September 1917 ‘MOORE.-Killed in action on the 19 July 1916 (previously reported missing), Private William Moore, eldest son of W. and R. Moore, Harrietville ; aged 28 years.’ The Argus13Argus (Melbourne, VIC : 1848-1957), Wednesday 19 September 1917, p 1. reported in September 1917 ‘MOORE.—Killed in action, somewhere in France, on the 19th July, 1916 (previously reported missing). William, beloved eldest son of Rose and William Moore, Harrietville; beloved brother of Maude, Hughie (also reported missing), Jack, Annie, Madge, Doris, Kitty, and Douglas, aged 28 years.’
William’s brother Hugh James Moore,14Virtual War Memorial Australia, Hugh James Moore, Service Number: 6781, https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/60902 (Birth place given as Harrietville, Victoria). Accessed 17 April 2024. enlisted on 11 August 1916, at Cootamundra, with his occupation given as a locomotive engine driver. Hugh was killed in action, aged 22 years, in France, on 11 April 1917 and is buried at Villers-Bretonneux, France. The Argus15Argus (Melbourne, VIC : 1848-1957), Monday 5 November 1917, p 1. reported ‘MOORE.- Killed in action in France, 11th April [1917], previously reported missing, Private Hugh Moore, aged 22 years, dearly loved second son of W. and R. Moore, Harrietville, and brother of W. Moore, killed in action in France [July 1916].’
The Braidwood Dispatch 16The Braidwood Dispatch and Mining Journal (NSW : 1888 – 1889; 1895; 1897 – 1954) Fri 14 Dec 1917 Page 2 MEMORIAL SERVICE. reported on Friday 14 December 1917, that ‘a memorial service will be held in the Union Church at North Araluen on Sunday, December 23rd, in memory of Private W. [William] Moore, who was killed in action in France. He was previously reported missing but is now officially reported killed in action. There will be a pair of altar lights dedicated to his memory by the rector. These are the gift of Mr. P. Mundy.’
In 2010, one year after the reinterment of the soldiers recovered from Pheasant Wood, the first identified headstones were revealed at Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery. These men were among the Australian soldiers buried by German forces after the Battle of Fromelles. Their identification was made possible through historical research, battlefield archaeology, forensic science and DNA provided by families. William was identified in 2010 which was the first year of the Pheasant Wood identification program. 17Fromelles Association of Australia https://fromelles.info/the-search-for-the-missing/pheasant-wood-soldiers-found-in-2010-95/ Accessed 14 July 2026