Private Thomas Henry Moore
The background of this North Irish Horseman is not known at present, other than that his father was a gardener named William John Moore. At the beginning of 1915 he was living at Whiteabbey, County Antrim, and working as a gardener. On 16 February that year he married Mary Jane McCrea at the Whitehouse Presbyterian Church, Belfast. Their child Elizabeth Lillie was born later that year.
Moore enlisted in the North Irish Horse between 4 and 10 June 1915 (No.1690). He trained at the regiment's Antrim reserve depot before embarking for France in 1916 or the first half of 1917, where he was posted to one of the squadrons of the 1st or 2nd North Irish Horse Regiments.
In August-September 1917 the 2nd NIH Regiment was disbanded and its men, together with some surplus to the needs of the 1st NIH Regiment, were transferred to the Royal Irish Fusiliers, an infantry regiment. Most, including Moore, were transferred on 20 September and posted to the 9th (Service) Battalion – renamed the 9th (North Irish Horse) Battalion – joining it in the field at Ruyaulcourt five days later. Moore was issued regimental number 41283.
Moore was wounded during October, possibly on the 26th. The war diary for the 9th Battalion for that day reports:
At night enemy again occupied Wigan Copse and was definitely driven out again at 9pm. Our fighting patrol suffered two casualties – one man killed and one slightly injured. At 10pm enemy obtained a direct hit on our right Lewis Gun post on Yorkshire Bank with a heavy trench mortar, killing three men.
Nothing more has been discovered about Moore's service during the remainder of the war.