Ronald Joseph Moore (10 September 1915 – 15 August 1992) was a New Zealand soldier during

World War II 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 the leader of 'Moore's March', a forced march through the Western Desert by survivors of a Long Range Desert Group patrol following the

Battle of Kufra (1941) The Capture of Kufra (, it, Cufra) was part of the Allied Western Desert Campaign during the Second World War. Kufra is a group of oases in the Kufra District of south-eastern Cyrenaica in the Libyan Desert. In 1940, it was part of the colony ...

. He was a farmhand, born on 19 September 1915 in Te Aroha, Waikato, New Zealand, and died on 15 August 1992.

Military service

During the Battle of Kufra at Gebel Sherif on 31 January 1941, Moore's Long Range Desert Group patrol was ambushed by the Italian Auto-Saharan Company, and posted ''missing, believed killed''. The patrol lost their rations, headgear and footwear when the trucks were destroyed in the initial attack. Moore then led a

forced march A loaded march is a relatively fast march over distance carrying a load and is a common military exercise. A loaded march is known as a forced foot march in the US Army. Less formally, it is a ruck march in the Canadian Armed Forces and the US Ar ...

with three other survivors through the Western Desert on an attempted trek to the nearest allied camp: the other soldiers were Guardsman John Easton, Guardsman Alexander Winchester, and RAOC fitter Alfred Tighe. They had no other supplies, except a two-gallon tin of water and a jar of

jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and entertai ...

. An Italian prisoner with them escaped. They found Sarra abandoned and headed for

Kufra Kufra () is a basinBertarelli (1929), p. 514. and oasis group in the Kufra District of southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. At the end of nineteenth century Kufra became the centre and holy place of the Senussi order. It also played a minor role in ...

. Tighe, who had been left behind on the fifth day of their march, was picked up by a Free French patrol four days later, and was able to inform them of the survival and direction of the others. A French patrol plane was sent out and spotted the small groups, airdropping food and a bottle of lemonade: they survivor did not notice the food, and only of lemonade survived the drop. A search party found the group on the 12th day. Easton was injured in the throat and later died, the first Scots Guardsman to die in North Africa. Winchester was semi-delirious. When the patrol found Moore he was clear-headed and uninjured, except for shrapnel in his foot from the Battle of Kufra. He was headed for Tekro away, barefooted, and slightly annoyed at being stopped as he calculated his was only two days march from his goal. Moore, who was known as "Skin" Moore, was Trooper No 1248 in the 2 New Zealand Divisional Cavalry. On 22 April 1941, he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) for his actions in North Africa, although the citation reads "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the Middle East": he was the first member of the

New Zealand Division The New Zealand Division was an infantry division of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force raised for service in the First World War. It was formed in Egypt in early 1916 when the New Zealand and Australian Division was renamed after the detachmen ...

to receive the award in World War II. He was also

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 ...

References

* Morgan, M. ''Sting of the Scorpion'' 2000 Sutton Publishing Ltd,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, UK * O’Carroll, Brendan ''The Kiwi Scorpions: The Story of the New Zealanders in the Long Range Desert Group'' 2000, Token Publications, Devon England pp100–103 * Polaschek, Alan ''The Complete New Zealand Distinguished Conduct Medal'' 1978, 1983 Medals Research, Christchurch NZ pp241,307 1915 births 1992 deaths New Zealand recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal New Zealand military personnel of World War II People from Te Aroha Long Range Desert Group personnel {{NewZealand-mil-bio-stub