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.
- Memorial at Fromelles, Lille, Nord Pas de Calais, France.7Find a Grave.com. Panel 157, on a monument at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/249827011/william-moore. Accessed 24 March 2024. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56348652/william-moore. Accessed 24 March 2024.
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).’
The Alpine Observer and North-Eastern Herald9Alpine 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 Argus10Argus (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 memorial details that his nickname was Mungeri, which is Arabic for food, because he was always eating.11Find a Grave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56348652/william-moore. Accessed 17 April 2024.
William’s brother Hugh James Moore,12Virtual 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 Argus13Argus (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].’