THE PRO PATRIA PROJECT

MOORE Ronald Joseph

1248, Trooper, 2 Divisional Cavalry Regiment, New Zealand Armoured Corps att. Long Range Desert Group [LRDG], WW2

CITATION

Distinguished Conduct Medal

Gazetted 22 April 1941, p2346

After the engagement at Gebel Sherif, south-west of Kufra Oasis, Libya, on 31 January 1941, Trooper MOORE and three other private soldiers were posted ‘missing believed killed’.  In reality they were hiding from enemy aircraft and ground troops, their truck and weapons having been destroyed, and did not see the retirement of their patrol which was made according to orders.  Trooper MOORE was wounded in the foot, one of the others had a bullet wound to the throat and a third suffered from an internal injury of long standing.  On the next morning they collected one 2 gallon tin of water, but no food, from a British vehicle which had been destroyed and burnt, and under the leadership of Trooper MOORE started to walk south-westward along the tracks by which the patrol had retired towards the French outpost of Tekro, 300 miles away.  Soon afterwards they picked up one small tin of jam which was soon eaten.  They walked for ten days and had covered 210 miles of sand desert without further supplies of food or water before they were picked up by the French.  One man died soon afterwards.  That any of them survived this amazing journey is entirely due to the efforts of Trooper MOORE, who eked out their tiny store of water, supported the other weaker men by his own example and leadership, and kept them on the correct route which had for long stretches been obliterated by a sand storm.  In addition he showed a remarkable combination of tact and firmness in dealing with one of the men, who was younger and less intelligent than the other two, and soon became totally deranged

Mention in Despatches

Gazetted

KNOWN AWARDS

Distinguished Conduct Medal

1939-45 Star

Africa Star

War Service Medal

      Mention in Despatches

New Zealand War Service Medal

NOTES

Born 10 September 1915, Te Aroha, New Zealand

Died 15 August 1992, Matamata, New Zealand

Buried in Matamata Cemetery [Plot XIVc, 64]