MOIR, George Francis (1867-1916)
Born at Morrisons near Ballarat on 6 March 1867, George Francis Moir was the son of the Reverend John Strachan Moir and Margaret, nee Stephen. He was enrolled as a boarder at Geelong College on 11 February 1879. Both his parents had died by 1879 and he was entered at the College by Mrs Morrison.
He married in 1896 to Helen Elizabeth (Bessie) Armstrong, the daughter of Adam and Margaret Armstrong, of Wingedee, NSW, and they had a son, James Telford Moir, who was born on 2 July 1897 at St Arnaud. At the time of his enlistment on 27 June 1915 at Liverpool. George was working as an accountant in Sydney, residing with his family at Water Street, Wahroonga, NSW. He was well into his forties at the time of his enlistment (No 2685).
He embarked with the 9th Reinforcement Group on HMAT A8 Argyllshire on 30 September 1915 for Egypt, and joined the 4th battalion at Tel-el-Kebir on 6 January 1916. He embarked on HT Simla from Alexandria, arriving at Marseilles on 30 March. He served as a stretcher bearer with his battalion in France, where he was killed in action at Pozieres on 24 July 1916, aged 48.
The News of the Week reported his death on 19 July 1917: ‘Friends of Mr George Francis Moir, second son of the late Rev John Moir, High Church, Bendigo, and formerly Presbyterian minister at Meredith, will regret to hear of his death at Pozieres in which engagement he was a company stretcher-bearer. Pte Moir was educated at The Geelong College, and after matriculating there entered the Colonial Bank, and then was clerk to Mr McKechnie, St Arnaud, and secretary to Mr McBride in his candidature for Parliament. Later he went to Western Australia and Sydney, where he was accountant to Messrs. Stanley and Co till he enlisted at Gordon, New South Wales. Pte Moir was reported wounded and missing on July 24th 1916, he leaves a widow and one son, now at the front.'
His son, J T Moir, enlisted (No 7227) as a Private after George's death, on 11 September 1916, and served with 13 Battalion for almost three years before his return to Australia on 1 July 1919. George Moir also lost a nephew, Private J H Moir, who was killed in action at First Bullecourt on 11 April 1917. His brother-in-law, Mr R A Armstrong, was informed that 'his nephew who belongs to another battalion, visited the 4th Battalion in France in the middle of August, and was informed by mates of the said George Francis Moir, that his uncle was wounded at the end of July, (and) as far as they knew had been sent to a hospital in England. They also stated that he and three others were Mentioned in Despatches for bravery in the action in which George Francis Moir was wounded'. A Court of Enquiry held on 14 June 1917 confirmed he had been killed on 24 July 1916. George was, according to the National Archives, buried at Pozieres British Cemetery, north-east of Albert, in Grave 3.G, but the Commonwealth War Graves Commission lists him as having no known grave, his name being commemorated on the Villers Bretonneux Memorial, France.
John Holmes Moir, of Swift's Creek, the son of Kerr Thompson and Margaret Mary Moir, was buried at Queant Road Cemetery Buissy, France - Grave VI.B.4.
The 4th Battalion was among the first infantry units raised for the AIF during the Great War. Like 1, 2 and 3 Battalions it was recruited from New South Wales and, together with these other battalions, formed the 1st Brigade. The battalion was raised within a fortnight of the declaration of war in August 1914 and embarked just two months later. After a brief stop in Albany, Western Australia, the battalion proceeded to Egypt, arriving on 2 December 1914. The battalion took part in the Anzac Landing on 25 April 1915 as part of the second and third waves. The commander of 4 Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel A J O Thompson, was killed the next day. At Anzac, the battalion took part in the defence of the beachhead and in August, along with the rest of the 1st Brigade, led the charge at Lone Pine. The battalion served at Anzac until the evacuation in December. After the withdrawal from Gallipoli, the battalion returned to Egypt. In March 1916, it sailed for France and the Western Front. From then until 1918, the battalion took part in operations against the German Army, principally in the Somme Valley in France and around Ypres in Belgium. The battalion's first major action in France was at Pozieres in the Somme Valley in July 1916.
His brother, John William Moir (1863-1902), was also a boarder at Geelong College.
Sources: 'Geelong Collegians at the Great War' compiled by J. Affleck. pp 74-75 (citing Australian War Memorial; National Archives; News of the Week.).