Almost in spite of amount of active service implied by his five clasp Queen’s South Africa Medal , little information regarding No. 27432 Trooper Arthur Henry Moore of 30th (Pembrokeshire) Company, Imperial Yeomanry life outside of military service has been uncovered. His service records are rather scant but do give us the usual basic information.
Born on 28 July 1880 in Margate, Kent. Moore had some prior military experience with the 1st volunteer Battalion, the East Kent Regiment prior to joining the Yeomanry at Canterbury on 19 February 1901. His parents, William and Sarah Elizabeth Moore were listed as his next of kin and resided at 22 Marine Terrace, Margate. Census records of 1891 reveal that Moore’s father was employed as a “Fly Driver” (driver of a type of carriage) and his mother and elder sister were employed running a lodging house. Virtually every family enumerated on the same census page as the Moore’s were employed in the lodging house business and a number were listed as “living on own means” and two – including Arthur’s other elder sister Anna were employed by the local telegraph office. All of this coupled with Marine Terrace being beach front property one may guess that the time the area was something of a resort/holiday destination.
As previously mentioned Arthur Henry Moore attested with 30 Company on 19 February 1901 and spent a full 19 days at home prior to shipping out to South Africa on 9 March 1901. Even considering his undetermined service time with the 1VB/East Kents one can hardly imagine that this was enough time to prepare Moore for mounted active service in South Africa. Moore would spend 1 year, 103 days in South African and shipped home on 21 June 1902. He was discharged as medically unfit for further service at Shorncliffe on 22 July 1902. His charter was assessed as “Very Good”.
Records of the 30th’s actions are not in great abundance but an account that appeared in South Africa Despatches, Volume I, 1901 gives a good impression of the late war, small scale fighting which men of 30th Coy, would have faced. on October 19 the small settlement Orange River Colony of Fauresmith was beset by a force of some 400 Boers. The town was defended by one company (117 men) of the 2/Seaforth Highlanders, one officer and 20 men of 30th Coy, and 17 civilians of the town guard. The Seaforths had taken up position on a kopje to he south-east of the town, with the Yomanry occupying a low ridgeline on the towns northern flank, The town guard occupied a number of buildings to the west of the town. About 4:15 a.m. the Boers attacked and pushed to ten yards of the Seaforth's picquets before being driven off with loss. The Boer attacks continued until final dying out around 8:30 a.m. Three of the defenders were killed and six wounded in the scrape.
As Moore’s medal so aptly illustrates, he saw considerable field service, and it bears the clasps “Cape Colony”, “Orange Free State”, “Transvaal”, “South Africa – 1901” and “South Africa – 1902”. Moore’s trail goes cold after his return home and discharge from the Imperial Yeomanry.
No marriage or death records have been found and no entry in the 1911 census for him has been found to date.