Edward Henry Moss (25 May 1911 – 31 March 1944) DFC was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

first-class cricketer and

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF ...

officer. Moss studied modern history at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, where he played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Initially serving 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 ...

with the Wiltshire Regiment, he transferred Royal Air Force Voluneteer Reserve in 1941, where he would spend the remainder of the war. He was killed during a bombing mission over Germany in 1944.

Early life

The son of William Henry Moss and his wife, Rose Winifred Moss, he was born at

Godden Green Godden Green is a hamlet east of Sevenoaks in Kent, England. It is within the civil parish of Seal, in Sevenoaks District, on the eastern edge of Knole Park. There is a large green, and a Shepherd Neame public house, thBuck's Head The village i ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He was initially educated at

Hawtreys Hawtreys Preparatory School was an independent boys' preparatory school in England, first established in Slough, later moved to Westgate-on-Sea, then to Oswestry, and finally to a country house near Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire. In its early years ...

prep school, before attending

Malvern College Malvern College is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent coeducational day and boarding school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school in the British sen ...

, where he captained the college cricket team in 1930. From there he went up to Trinity College, Oxford. While at Trinity he made his debut in

for

against

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

in 1933 at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, with the remainder of his three first-class appearances for Oxford coming in the following year, which also included a first-class match for HDG Leveson-Gower's XI ''against'' Oxford University. His four matches for Oxford yielded 170 runs at an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

of 21.25, with a high score of 50. He narrowly missed out on his cricket

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. His other sporting interest at Oxford was

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

, with him representing the university for four years, including two as captain. He did manage to gain a blue in a golf. He graduated from Oxford with

second-class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

in modern history, and found employment as a schoolmaster at Radley College. He was appointed a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

with the Radley College contingent of the Officers' Training Corps in October 1936. Moss initially played

minor counties cricket The National Counties, known as the Minor Counties before 2020, are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that do not have first-class status. The game is administered by the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), which comes unde ...

for Kent Second XI in the early 1930s, but later appeared for

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

in minor counties cricket, making five appearances in the

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...

in 1938–1939.

World War II service

Moss initially served during the

with the Wiltshire Regiment, where he gained the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in June 1940. He relinquished his commission in September 1941, when he transferred to the

. He served with

No. 61 Squadron RAF No. 61 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was first formed as a fighter squadron of the British Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. It was reformed in 1937 as a bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force and served in th ...

, initially with the rank of probationary

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

, with confirmation of his position confirmed in September 1942. He was promoted to the

war substantive Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a m ...

rank of flying officer in August 1942. After training as a pilot, he spent sometime as an instructor, before becoming an operational Lancaster pilot. He was promoted to the rank of acting

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

in July 1943. In March 1944, Moss was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for "gallantry displayed in flying operations against the enemy". Moss had carried out five bombing sorties on

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, including on one occasion when his bomber was severely damaged while returning from a bombing run over Berlin after being hit by anti-aircraft fire, with Moss returning the bomber safely to England. The

Gazette A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

cited his "great leadership, skill and courage" as "setting a fine example to all." A week after being awarded the DFC, Moss was killed when his bomber was shot down over Rimbach in Germany. After the war his body was buried at the Hannover War Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Edward 1911 births 1944 deaths People from Seal, Kent People educated at Hawtreys People educated at Malvern College Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford English cricketers Oxford University cricketers H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers Schoolteachers from Kent Officers' Training Corps officers Berkshire cricketers British Army personnel of World War II Wiltshire Regiment officers Royal Air Force squadron leaders Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II Burials at Hanover War Cemetery Military personnel from Kent