Memorials & Monuments
on the Isle of Wight
- CWGC Headstones -
- Niton St John's Church : Joseph Ewart Moore -

Location

In St John's Churchyard, Niton, Isle of Wight
 
Description

Standard CWGC headstone. WW I pattern.

Headstone


 

Inscription


 
Further Information

CWGC record ...
 
Veteran Affairs Canada record ...
 
HMHS Llandovery Castle (Wikipedia article)
 
Joseph Ewart Moore was the Son of George and Mary Moore; the husband of Louisa Moore, of Tenlon, Manitoba. He was born in Burnley, England on 24th June 1878.
He emigrated to Canada in 1902 and was employed as an insurance agent. He enlisted in the Canadian Forces following the sinking of the "Lusitania" in 1915. His Attestation papers are dated 18th August 1915, and give his height as 5 ft 10 in, with fair complexion, light brown hair and blue eyes.
Serving with the Canadian Army Medical Corps in France, he was seriously wounded. In order to allow him to recuperate, he was given a berth on the Hospital Ship "Llandovery Castle" and was present on this ship for 4 voyages. On the 27th June 1918, despite being clearly marked as a Hospital Ship, the vessel was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-Boat in the Atlantic. Many of the lifeboats carrying survivors were subsequently shelled and rammed, in contravention of the laws governing hospital ships. Of the 258 crew and medical staff on board, including 14 nursing sisters, only 24 survived. There were no patients on board.

Pte Moore's body was washed ashore at Rocken End, Isle of Wight, on the 23rd September, 1918, and was interred at Niton on the 28th September. This was reported in the Isle of Wight Mercury of 4th October 1918 as :

"The body of a Canadian soldier, which had been washed ashore during the week, was buried at Niton on Saturday. Evidence on the clothing showed that the poor fellow had been in the water since the beginning of June."

 
Thanks to Denis Otter for providing information about Pte Moore and copies of cuttings from the local Burnley newspapers, from which the photograph of Pte Moore is reproduced.
 
See also the Burnley in the Great War website.