Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From François Berthout

CSM John Heywood Moore 

Today, in the autumn sun, in a serene and peaceful silence, on this land of remembrance on which millions of men fought and fell during one of the most terrible battles of the First World War, the light shines in light the names of young men who, with all their hearts and all their strength, gave all they had for us, they gave their youth, their today and their lives for our tomorrow.The Somme today blossoms with poppies that wave on the old battlefields on which so much blood was shed and on which so many lives were lost and hopes were shattered, on this land of France, we do not forget and we will never forget the courage and the sacrifice of a whole generation of men in front of which I bow with respect to tell them that they will never be forgotten and that we will always take care of them, of their memory so that they live forever with us and today , I would like, with gratitude, to honor the memory of one of those young men among the millions who fell here, I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Company Serjeant Major number 431 John Heywood Moore who fought in the 21st Australian Infantry Battalion and who was killed in action 104 years ago, on November 12, 1916 at the age of 22 on the Somme front.

John Heywood Moore was born in 1894 in Brisbane, Queensland, and was the son of John James and Amelia Sarah Moore, of Karalpa, Orrvale, Shepparton, Victoria.John was educated at Caulfield Grammar School, Victoria and Before the outbreak of the war,he lived in Karalpa, Clarence Street, Elsternwick , Victoria, and worked as a surveyor and served in the 48th Battalion of the Citizen Forces.

Enlisted on January 25, 1915 in Melbourne, Victoria, in the 21st Australian Infantry Battalion, B Company, he embarked with his unit from Melbourne, on board HMAT A38 Ulysses on May 10, 1915 and sailed for Egypt where he arrived in Alexandria on August 29 and embarked for the Gallipoli peninsula but suffered from conjunctivitis and was evacuated to Mudros, Greece on September 7. On August 14, 1915 he was sent to the Convalescent Depot in Mudros before to join the 21st Australian Infantry Battalion on September 29 at Gallipoli but he fell ill again and suffered from influenza and jaundice and was evacuated on December 3 on board HS Glenart Cast for Malta.

A month later, after recovering, John embarked from Malta, on board Euripides on January 21, 1916 and sailed for Egypt and was disembarked at Giza on January 28, he joined his unit at Zeitoun on March 5 and was sent to Moascar two days later.On March 19, John joined the British Expeditionary Force in Alexandria and embarked with his battalion for France where he arrived in Marseilles on March 26 and was sent to the Somme front.Two months later, on May 6, 1916, he was promoted to the rank of Serjeant. On July 8, 1916, John suffered a sprained ankle and was evacuated to the 7th Australian Field Ambulance then to the 1st Canadian Casualty Clearing Station and finally at the 25th General Hospital of Hardelot on July 9. on July 20, he was sent to the 1st Convalescent Depot in Boulogne. Two months later, on August 4, 1916, John joined his battalion in the Somme and was promoted to the rank of Company Sergeant Major on August 23, 1916.

John fought with exemplary courage in the Somme but unfortunately, three months later, on November 12, 1916, he met his fate and was killed in action near Flers, he was 22 years old.

Today, Company Serjeant Major John Heywood Moore rests in peace with his men, friends and brothers in arms at A.I.F.Burial Ground, Flers, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription "He laid down his life for his friends".

John, Sir, today I would like, with very deep respect, to bow in front of you to present my deep respects to you as I did a few months ago on your grave. You who were young, you answered at the call of duty like the bravest of men alongside your comrades who did their duty with honor and courage under the Australian flag but you did not only fight for your country, you fought under the banner of united countries who served for just and noble causes, aware that the war could take everything from them, they did not retreat and marched without rest and with conviction on the roads and battlefields of France, all united by a bond of camaraderie in the muddy trenches of the Somme, they faced the horrors that no man can imagine, day and night and day after day, they remained united under rains of shells that plowed the soil and broke men in titanic explosions, they faced fear and death and saw their comrades who fell under deluges of bullets, steel and lead cutting through the air and who cut down so many men who wanted to live and who tried to survive in this hell on earth.Not a man, not a family were spared by this tragedy, some men had the chance to return home but were forever marked by what they had seen and gone through and they too tried to live never forgetting their comrades who never returned, they all fought beyond bravery and gave their youth so that we can live today.they who gave so much for us, we will be forever grateful to them.Today they rest in peace together under the shade of their white tombs that the sun comes to light up, in silence, they are still standing in front of us on these lands which they defended and on which they fought and paid the greatest sacrifices, in this silence which reigns and which crosses the fields of poppies, we can hear their voices, we can see what they endured and ask us, through their young and smiling faces to never forget them.to be there to watch over their graves is an honor, to perpetuate their memory is a privilege, to walk in their footsteps is a pride of every day, of every moment because to remember them is to continue to make them live, not only in the stone of their graves but in our hearts and in our thoughts, they will remain forever present in each of us and will never be forgotten, I will always watch over each of them, my boys of the Somme, the flame of remembrance will always be held high and proudly so that their memory and their names live forever. Thank you John, for all that you have done for us, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.At the going down of the sun and in the morning , we will remember him, we will remember them.