If you search for Charles in my family tree, you will not find him, in fact if he had lived there would be no family tree here at all. Charles Moore was born in Donyatt in Somerset in 1892, the third child and eldest son of William and Bessie Moore.
By the time my story starts William, Bessie and their 9 children are living at Elwell Farm, near Netherbury in Dorset. Charles is courting a girl called Nellie Record who lives in Rampisham around 7 miles away. Nellie Record is a pretty girl, two years younger than Charles the daughter of the local carrier Henry Record.
Charlie cycles over to see Nellie on a regular basis, often sending postcards to let her know he got home safe or to say he will be over in a day or so. The year is 1913.
August 4, 1914 Britain declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary.
1st September 1914 Charles goes down to Dorchester and signs up to the Dorsetshire Regiment
Over the next few months he moves around the country getting his training. Sending Nellie postcards from all over the UK.
Now a member of the 5th Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment, which were attached to the 11th Northern Division, on the 1st July 1915 Charles set sail from Liverpool, bound for Alexandria, and on to Mudros, once all the troops were concentrated on the 28 July 1915, they set sail for Suvla Bay, Gallipoli landing 7 August 1915.
Charles survived the initial landing and attack between the 6th and 9th of August. Along with the rest of the division they dug in just above the beaches on which they had landed.
On his last postcard dated the 20th August 1915 he asked if Nellie could send him paper to write a letter, I do not suppose he ever got it. On the 9 September 1915, he was killed in action in Suvla Bay.
His brother Percy, serving with an artillery regiment continued to write to Nellie through out the war, and Nellie put all the postcards in an album. No letters were ever found, perhaps Nellie destroyed them.
In August 1918 Nellie married James Crabb, 12 years her senior. James and Nellie are my maternal grandparents.
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