Francis Alan Moore, 1910-1943 , service to Sarawak, Brother to Edward Moore and Nephew to Frederick Ambrose Wilford Page-Turner

 

Francis Alan Moore, 1910-1943   

Parents, Dorothy (nee Blaydes ) Moore  & Edward Marvell Moore He was born at Haywards Heath on 3^rd February 1910 and baptized on 16^th April 1910.

 

Dorothy with her Brother Edward Hugh Marvel Page-Turner 1920 

with her children  Alec and Edward Moore

Moore joined the Merchant Navy serving firstly with the NCP  (the European North Continent Ports ) and then joined the New Zealand Shipping Company. After a few years, he changed his profession and joined the colonial service.

 

Francis Alan  "Alec" in Naval Unifrom  & his brother Edward Moore 1928

Francis Alan "Alec" Moore & Companion 

Francis Alan Moore was almost certainly introduced to the Sarawak Brooke Government service by his Uncle Frederick Ambrose Wilford Page-Turner who was brother to Dorothy the mother of Francis Alan Moore and retired in 1930 as the  Resident of the second division. It's possible that Francis Alan Moore served under his Uncle in the second division before he retired.

  

Anthony Brooke & Francis Alan "Alec" Moore  walking behind  

& Alec Moore as District Officer Sarawak

 

Francis Alan Moore worked in the Colonial Service as a District Officer in a remote part of Sarawak Called Betong. He was known affectionately as “Sailor Moore” due to his former service in the Merchant Navy. He was an energetic and highly competent officer, well-liked by the people in the district. Sailor Moore famously caught a large Cobra in his house, the Cobra was killed and displayed in the Kuching Museum. It measured over 16 feet. Sailor Moore was capable of consuming vast quantities of liquor without becoming noticeably affected.  

Betong is a town in Betong Division in Sarawak, Malaysia, lying in the Saribas area. It was formerly under the Sri Aman district. Betong is located between three main rivers, Batang Lupar, Batang Saribas, and Batang Kelaka, and covers an area of 4,180 km².

 

 

Following the Japanese invasion in late 1941, he reached Australia. He joined the RANVR (Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RANVR) was a reserve force of the Royal Australian Navy. ) in 1942 as a Paymaster Lieutenant, allocated to Special Intelligence, and was based at HMAS Moreton, a shore facility in Brisbane, Queensland.

 

"Corio" Quantas Flying Boat shot down by the Japanese

Friday 30 January 1942 Francis Alan Moore survived with four others being shot down by the Japanese fighters. The survivors including Captain A.A. Koch and First Officer V. Lyne, survived the crash, swam to shore, and were eventually rescued.  The aircraft, named Corio, was operating extra service XWS160 to evacuate civilians from Java. It was shot down by Japanese fighters off the southern coast of Timor. Five of those aboard, The 1942 Qantas Short Empire shoot-down was an incident that occurred in the early days of the Pacific War during World War II. A Short Empire flying boat airliner, Corio, operated by Qantas was shot down by Japanese aircraft off the coast of West Timor, Dutch East Indies, on 30 January 1942, killing 13 of the occupants.

A contemporary Newspaper article describing the incident showing 

F A Moore & First Officer Lynne 2 of teh 5 survivors

On 30 January 1942, G-AEUH, captained by A. A. (Aub) Koch, left Darwin at dawn, for Kupang, West Timor, en route to Surabaya, where it was to pick up refugees from the Japanese invasion of Java and transport them to Australia.

When it was 13 nmi (24 km) from West Timor, travelling at a height of 400 ft (120 m), Corio was fired on by seven Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters.

Koch immediately increased the speed of the aircraft and dived it towards the coast, attempting to evade the attack; the aircraft reached its maximum speed – possibly 200 miles per hour (320 km/h) – and flew a zig-zagging course, so low that the airliner's wing floats were bouncing off the sea. Nevertheless, the Zero pilots soon achieved numerous hits, perforating the fuselage and killing some passengers. Following a sudden loss of power when two engines caught fire, Corio hit the sea at high speed, nose first, 3 nmi (5.6 km) from the mouth of the Noelmini River; the impact breaking the fuselage in half.

Out of a total of 18 passengers and crew, 13 were killed in the attack.^] Koch, wounded in an arm and leg, was thrown out of the wreckage by the impact. However, he managed to swim ashore, a feat which took him three hours. Koch and the other survivors were later rescued by a Dornier Do 24 flying boat of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Three passengers and two crew were saved.

At the end of November 1942, he left Australia with a colleague on a secret operation and is believed to have been landed in Sarawak from a Submarine near Miri, then occupied by Japanese forces, around January 14, 1943. After that, there is no news of Moore of any kind and as late as November 26, 1945 he was still listed as missing. (23-27) Lt RANVR, killed in action March 23, 1943 aged 33.

The Sarawak Government Conspicuous Bravery Medal

awarded to Francis Alan Moore in 1943

Description note with the The Sarawak Government Conspicuous Bravery Medal

written by NFA Page-Turner

Sometime later, he was awarded the Sarawak Medal. The Sarawak Government Conspicuous Bravery Medal: was instituted by Rajah Sir Charles Vyner Brooke to recognise and reward supreme acts of conspicuous bravery by members of the Sarawak Rangers, Sarawak Police, and government servants.

An Australian commando incursion had been attempted into Sarawak in early 1943 to try to set up a radio listening post on the north of the island and Moore may have been involved in this operation. Moore is commemorated both at the Plymouth Naval Memorial in Devon and at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, he is also commemorated at the church in Sheepstore Dartmoor where the Brooke family are buried.

War Memorial  in St Leonards Church Sheepstor family church of the Brooke Rajahs of Sarawak with Francis Alan Moore mentioned in the

top right column,