Private Philip Archibald Thomas Moore was a Hastings man, hotel barman and First World War soldier who died of wounds in France on 24 August 1918, aged twenty-eight. He had served first in the Army Service Corps before transferring to the 8th Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales’s (Royal Berkshire) Regiment, and is buried at Daours Communal Cemetery Extension on the Somme. [1][2]
Private Philip Archibald Thomas Moore, 43701, Royal Berkshire Regiment, died of wounds on 24 August 1918.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Early Life and Family
Philip Archibald Thomas Moore was born in Hastings, Sussex, in June 1891, his birth being registered in the town during the third quarter of that year. He was the son of John Thomas Moore and Jessie Strutt, although the birth-registration information in the family report records his mother under the surname Bumstead, probably reflecting a previous family name or an irregularity in the civil-registration record. [1]
He was baptised at St Clement, Halton, Hastings, on 29 October 1899, when he was eight years old. By the census of 1901 he was living with his family at 56 St Thomas Road, in the parish of St Mary in the Castle, Hastings, where he was recorded as a nine-year-old son in the household. These details place his early years firmly within the expanding Victorian and Edwardian seaside town, whose economy supported fishing, building, hospitality, domestic service and the growing visitor trade. [1]
By 1911 Philip was living at the Warriors Gate Hotel, 12 and 14 London Road, St Leonards-on-Sea. Aged nineteen and unmarried, he was employed as a barman, an occupation requiring long hours and regular contact with the public in a resort district shaped by the railway and seasonal tourism. The record gives a glimpse of a working young man whose civilian life was rooted in the hospitality trade before war transformed his prospects. [1]
Philip’s father, John Thomas Moore, had died by the time of Philip’s military death in 1918. His mother had remarried and was then known as Jessie Philpott, formerly Moore; she was living at 51 Baldslow Road, Hastings, when her son died. Philip did not marry and had no recorded children. [2][1]
Military Service
Philip enlisted at Bexhill and served in the Western European theatre during the First World War. His service history shows that he initially belonged to the Army Service Corps, under the number S/4/056228, before transferring to the infantry and receiving the Royal Berkshire Regiment service number 43701. [1]
The Army Service Corps was essential to the functioning of the British Expeditionary Force. Its men moved food, ammunition, clothing, equipment and other supplies between railheads, depots and front-line formations; a transfer from this service into an infantry battalion illustrates the growing manpower pressures faced by the British Army as the war continued. Philip subsequently served as a Private in the 8th Battalion, Princess Charlotte of Wales’s (Royal Berkshire) Regiment. [2][1]
The 8th Battalion was a wartime service battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment. Like many such units, it was composed largely of volunteers and later reinforcements, and it served on the Western Front as part of the infantry effort that endured trench warfare, artillery bombardment, raids, defensive operations and major offensives. By the final months of 1918, the regiment and its battalions were engaged in the Allied advance that followed the failure of Germany’s spring offensives. [3]
Unit Context at Time of Death
Private Moore died on 24 August 1918, during the period commonly known as the Hundred Days Offensive. Beginning in August 1918, this sequence of Allied operations pushed German forces back across the former battlefields of the Somme and eventually led to the Armistice in November. The offensive required infantry battalions such as the 8th Royal Berkshires to advance through damaged villages, former trench systems and heavily defended positions while supporting artillery, engineers, transport and medical services attempted to keep pace. [4][3]
During August 1918, the Allied armies were pressing eastwards after the Battle of Amiens, launched on 8 August. The battle and the operations that followed marked a decisive change from the static fighting of earlier years: the German Army was compelled to retreat, but its rearguards remained capable of mounting determined resistance, and casualties continued to be severe. A soldier could be wounded during an advance, in artillery fire, or while holding newly captured ground, then moved through a chain of regimental aid posts, field ambulances and casualty clearing stations. [4]
Daours, where Philip was buried, lay north-east of Amiens and became an important medical location during the war. Its position close to rail and road communications made it suitable for the treatment and onward movement of wounded soldiers from the Somme sector. The presence of Philip’s grave there is consistent with the official finding that he died of wounds rather than being killed immediately in action. [2][1]
Philip Moore died during the Allied advance of August 1918, when the infantry’s progress was still bought at a heavy human cost.
Royal Berkshire Regiment casualty records and the wider Somme campaign context
Circumstances of Death
Private Philip Archibald Thomas Moore died of wounds in France on 24 August 1918. The available records do not identify the exact action in which he was wounded, nor the date on which he received those wounds. Nevertheless, his service with the 8th Royal Berkshires, the timing of his death, and his burial near Amiens place his final days within the intense operations of the Allied offensive on the Somme. [4][2][1]
The phrase “died of wounds” indicates that Philip survived long enough to receive medical attention after being injured. In 1918, casualties were normally treated first close to the battlefield and then evacuated to increasingly large medical units farther behind the line. Daours Communal Cemetery Extension contains many men who died in such medical establishments, making it likely that Philip died after evacuation from his battalion or another forward treatment post. [2][1]
Burial and Commemoration
Philip is buried in Daours Communal Cemetery Extension, France, in Plot VI, Row B, Grave 1. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records him as Private 43701, 8th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, and identifies him as the son of Jessie Philpott, formerly Moore, of 51 Baldslow Road, Hastings, and the late John Thomas Moore. [2][1]
His grave forms part of the Commonwealth system of commemoration that ensured an identified burial and a permanent headstone for men who died overseas. The location at Daours preserves the connection between Philip’s final service in the Somme region and the family home in Hastings from which he had left for war. [1][2]
Philip’s entitlement to the 1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal confirms overseas service before the end of 1915 and his continued service through the war. His inclusion in the Imperial War Museums’ Lives of the First World War project and in other casualty databases helps make his service accessible to descendants and local historians today. [5][3][1]
Legacy
Philip Moore’s life connected Hastings and St Leonards-on-Sea with the battlefields of France. From his childhood at St Thomas Road to his work as a barman at the Warriors Gate Hotel, his known civilian life was entirely rooted in the Sussex coast; his wartime service, however, took him first into the Army Service Corps and then into an infantry battalion fighting on the Western Front. [1]
His transfer from a logistical branch of the Army to the Royal Berkshire Regiment illustrates the many ways in which the British Army drew upon men’s skills, service histories and manpower reserves as the conflict developed. The Army Service Corps supplied the means by which armies could fight, while infantry battalions such as the 8th Royal Berkshires bore the direct burden of occupying, defending and advancing across the front line. [3][1]
The family report identifies Philip as the stepson of a third cousin twice removed to the researcher. Although he left no wife or children, the survival of civil records, military details and his Commonwealth grave means that he can still be remembered as an individual rather than solely as a casualty: a Hastings-born hotel worker, a son of John and Jessie, and a soldier whose life ended during the final Allied advance of 1918. [2][1]
Sources and Further Reading
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Private Philip Archibald Thomas Moore
- Imperial War Museums, Lives of the First World War: Philip Archibald Thomas Moore
- A Street Near You: Royal Berkshire Regiment First World War casualties
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Daours Communal Cemetery Extension
- The National Archives: British Army war diaries, 1914–1922
- Find a Grave: Philip Archibald Thomas Moore
Sources
[1] Individual-Report-for-Phillip-Archibald-Thomas-Moore.pdf https://ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/web/direct-files/attachments/141549598/c4401abd-0251-4f66-8ded-b2a000ab10a9/Individual-Report-for-Phillip-Archibald-Thomas-Moore.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=ASIA2F3EMEYE2QWTZXV3&Signature=K3yKhsC3uBR9h8o92s83mtvWPJI%3D&x-amz-security-token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjECsaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJHMEUCIQCUzCA4Q25Jq1jQd%2F1hGDbdNnOwxLy8ScWEucVYDnN2LQIgYVdIe7FYVT2QCpyndwnviK9F5P4XbKVjpCbmPuLGvlwq%2FAQI9P%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FARABGgw2OTk3NTMzMDk3MDUiDHSzXUAjC%2B1LDbS2gyrQBGPB%2BAblZJavR1IIFOO8wiyJXckOkpedsQKhiHsWsidlGo5Bgu8yheJXAqwLJEaUPMerLt%2Fn7wOFuubfWnvYCHKnObQHZXlUpf8GDxTrqA024UEyH18owRuCzI%2B2qq8jTTxUXF33Ey7lBDzUianlepYfOTwIJZc8rBdu7mlOO2dRDSk4XZ8NpZmbT6xUguIq3MaVWTWC4FC7PA6%2BmSqHWKnYUA6KnjVWoI1g8v%2FqwpPpaxltTecc6z%2BcaSWrdeBTbhu5IGV8BLZkV2vZJ5dh7cTnQ0l7MJInIruYpozuBTVBOc1%2FHJd4HRAfo4xhkOPWEtgxkJtTa1OkpqM35L%2F0lQLOOfFi%2FjsNrlprMMG5F%2FxuVWWEMKEYkntUA8fFyoqkJ0g%2FHq8u%2Bn5oqhtUhLjG42C3RnWbqOlKiaEXyIoI44Baxhg2nl9jieNbOeluR6N%2B9TN5lp9A2tzUPDI%2F3E4yFrbs44tHxmguvT3lBdQCHFGWQIzXcP6ZpLKt%2BkSjkTrNFMsEOvpSoFwtR12gA4Xr4Znzx9rWCbdWVyy7uQjxJuEYLX2loYEzWbwLK9mrdWPz0waUAHIfE%2B%2FCzhj0OiHmDhxlfxUg72KN5l1omV%2BGjtSLg9CXbgd6W93T1VIp4kOJaGSzLtlGFxSz16PLEp41LigQuhpiMYA0QIE%2B2VASgWYzrn8TqCwH3PRyKhFuh89FFzLls4yLyJBN0lPswoW4%2Fz90aq8hzGXthRRwIhbdNBrHa0ReMktqX4o35fPXDjGQBfBs6JL09%2F%2FOhgarF9CvyEwwiaSy1AY6mAGi8CfYXspmn7UewaFtL6L0hhxE0ObFPhtnTqSMeceXwyyPPa4GJ8kRUeGmVA8D4JsLhwdlU4JBCEEfjKM4inHZHbj0h60qILHts%2FtsQfomAzKByqluPbf69OujWwAtVWasIuStX2fKao3SOKQf3aJMPj2HOixZvodKFc02V%2Fq7%2FJWH2j2q9dNVM9GrNs3%2BAMw5rNZCaVvl3w%3D%3D&Expires=1787599126
[2] Private Philip Archibald Thomas Moore | War Casualty Details … https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/77461/philip-archibald-thomas-moore/
[3] Royal Berkshire Regiment – First World War Casualties https://astreetnearyou.org/regiment/204/Royal-Berkshire-Regiment
[4] 1552 died on this day: Sat 24/08/1918 – First World War https://firstworldwaronthisday.blogspot.com/2018/08/1552-died-on-this-day-sat-24081918.html
[5] Life story: Philip Archibald Thomas Moore | Lives of the First World War https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/3105484
[6] Trying to know more about the units of these men – Soldiers and … https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/1518-trying-to-know-more-about-the-units-of-these-men/
[7] [PDF] BRITISH TRANSPORT POLICE HISTORY GROUP ROLL OF … https://www.btphg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/BTPHG-RoH-UpdatedMay-2020.pdf
[8] Oxfordshire – Henley on Thames – Roll of Honour https://www.roll-of-honour.com/Oxfordshire/HenleyOnThames.html
[9] Honoring Fallen Heroes of 1918 | PDF | Corporal – Scribd https://www.scribd.com/document/386909671/Today-s-Fallen-Heroes-Saturday-24-August-1918-1588
[10] Search for “ROYAL BERKSHIRE REGIMENT” in unit | Lives of the … https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/searchlives/field/unit/ROYAL%20BERKSHIRE%20REGIMENT/filter/?page=322