Vice-Admiral Dashwood Fowler Moir DSO (16 August 1880 – 8 August 1942) was a British commander serving with distinction in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in both World Wars who was killed whilst escorting North Atlantic

Convoy SC 94 Convoy SC 94 was the 94th of the numbered series of World War II Slow Convoys of merchant ships from Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, to Liverpool.Hague 2000 p.133 The ships departed Sydney on 31 July 1942 and were met by Mid-Ocean Es ...

. He was one of the most senior Royal Navy officers to be killed in the Second World War.

Life

He was born on 16 August 1880 in

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

in Scotland the son of Dr John Wilson Moir and his wife, Helen Alice Levine. He joined the

in July 1894, as soon as he left school. He was posted to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. In 1902 he was involved in an expedition along the River Niger in HMS ''Thrush'' and was promoted to Lieutenant in June of that year. In 1907 he was placed in charge of HMS ''TB7''. He became Lieutenant Commander in 1910. In 1912 he became captain of HMS ''Ariel''. He was promoted to commander in 1914. Moir and the ''Ariel'' saw action at the Battle of Dogger Bank and Battle of Heligoland Bight. In October 1914 he transferred to command the destroyer HMS ''Goshawk'', and saw action at the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...

at which he was also commander of the

First Destroyer Flotilla The 1st Destroyer Flotilla, also styled as the First Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the British Royal Navy from 1909 to 1940 and again from 1947 to 1951. History Pre-war history In May 1906, the First Destroyer Flotilla was at ...

. He was

Mentioned in Dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

following the battle. In 1917 he was given command of the new destroyer HMS ''Vimiera'' and in July 1918 moved to HMS ''Valhalla''. In March 1918 he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

. He left ''Valhalla'' in January 1919 and was promoted to captain in June 1919. In December 1920 he commanded HMS ''Bruce'' at the head of the

Fourth Destroyer Flotilla The British 4th Destroyer Flotilla , or Fourth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from August 1909 to July 1951. History In 1907 the Home Fleet had a large formation of destroyers called the Home Fleet Flotilla of destro ...

. In 1921 he moved to HMS ''Mackay'' (a Submarine tender). In 1925/26 he was Flag Captain for the naval dockyards on

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. In 1929 he took over HM Dockyards in

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...

. In early 1931 he was given his final large ship: an aircraft carrier on patrol in the Mediterranean. On 19 July 1931 he was promoted to rear admiral but placed on the Retired List on the following day. Still on the Retired List he was promoted to vice admiral in 1936. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was created Commodore (Second Class) in the Royal Navy Reserve in October 1941 and put on active duty supporting convoys at the rank of Commodore of Convoy. He successfully led Convoy ON 36 and Convoy HX 165.

set off from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Nova Scotia in July 1942. Moir acted as Commodore of the merchant fleet, and placed himself in the ''Trehata''. The convoy was discovered by a "wolf pack" (group of German U-boats) and decimated. The ''Trehata'' was torpedoed and sunk by ''U-176'' on 8 August 1942, near

Cape Farewell Cape Farewell ( kl, Nunap Isua; da, Kap Farvel) is a headland on the southern shore of Egger Island, Nunap Isua Archipelago, Greenland. As the southernmost point of the country, it is one of the important landmarks of Greenland. Geography Loc ...

on the Greenland coast. Moir was declared "missing presumed dead" on the following day. He is memorialised on his parents grave in St Andrews Cemetery, south-east of St Andrews Cathedral. He is also listed on the

Liverpool Naval Memorial The Liverpool Naval Memorial, also known as the Memorial to the Missing of the Naval Auxiliary Personnel of the Second World War or the Merchant Navy War Memorial, is a war memorial at Pier Head beside the River Mersey in Liverpool, near to the ...

(panel 1, column 1).

Family

In 1908 he married Ada Frances Margaret Muir Muirhead. They had three sons and one daughter. William David Moir died in Bo'ness aged only 9 months. The family later lived at

Brimpton Brimpton is a mostly rural village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Berkshire, England. Brimpton is centred boxing the compass, ESE of the town of Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury. Toponymy One suggested origin of the name of ...

near Reading.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moir, Dashwood Fowler 1880 births 1942 deaths Royal Navy admirals of World War II People from St Andrews Royal Navy personnel killed in World War II Royal Navy officers of World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order People who died at sea Royal Navy personnel of the Second Boer War