Rodney Moore (British Army officer)
General Sir James Newton Rodney Moore, GCVO, KCB, CBE, DSO, KStJ (9 June 1905 – 19 May 1985), commonly known as Sir Rodney Moore, was a Australian-born senior officer in the British Army. He served in the Second World War and the Palestine Emergency and was General Officer Commanding London District from 1957 to 1959. He served as the second Chief of the Malaysian Armed Forces Staff from 1959 to 1965. His tenure coincided with the final stages of the Malayan Emergency and the early years of the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. Moore's final appointment was as Defence Services Secretary, a role he fulfilled from 1964 to 1966.[3][4]
Early life and education
Moore was born in Bunbury, Western Australia, on 9 June 1905, the son of Major General Sir Newton Moore and his wife, Isabel Lowrie. He was educated at Harrow School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.[3]
Military career
After graduating from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, Moore was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Grenadier Guards on 29 January 1925. During the Second World War, between 1942 and 1944, he served as a General Staff Officer (GSO) with the Guards Armoured Division. He subsequently became the Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards, during operations in North-West Europe. In 1945, he assumed command of the 8th Infantry Brigade, operating in Germany and later in Palestine.[5][6]
In 1948, Moore returned to the United Kingdom and was appointed chief of staff of London District, a post he held until 1950. He then attended the Imperial Defence College.[6] From 1951 to 1953, Moore served as Deputy adjutant general with the British Army of the Rhine in Germany. He later received his first NATO appointment as chief of staff at Allied Forces Northern Europe. In 1955, Moore returned to the Middle East, where he held command of the 1st Infantry Division before being transferred later that year to take command of the 10th Armoured Division.[6]
Moore returned to London in 1957 to assume the post of Major-General commanding the Household Brigade and London District. In 1959, he undertook another overseas assignment, serving in the Federation of Malaya as Chief of the Armed Forces Staff, a position now recognised as the Chief of Defence Forces of Malaysia. He also held the concurrent role of Director of Border Operations during the latter phase of the Malayan Emergency. In recognition of his service, Moore was conferred the honorary title of Tan Sri following his appointment as a Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (Malay: Panglima Mangku Negara, PMN) by the King of Malaysia in 1961.[7][8] His final active military appointment was as the first Defence Services Secretary at the Ministry of Defence in London. He retired from military service in 1966.[9]
Between 1965 and 1966, Moore served as Aide-de-Camp General to Queen Elizabeth II. He later held ceremonial duties as Chief Steward of Hampton Court Palace and was also appointed a Gentleman Usher to the Royal Household.[10][11][12]
References
- ^ Australia, Birth Index, 1788–1922
- ^ "No. 47705". The London Gazette. 5 December 1978. p. 14602.
- ^ a b "Obituary: Gen Sir Rodney Moore". The Times. 21 May 1985. p. 14.
- ^ Daud, Mohd Noor (2009). 1 Pengabdian, 1 Pengorbanan, 1 Perjuangan...: Biografi Panglima Tentera Darat (1956 hingga 2009) [1 Devotion, 1 Sacrifice, 1 Struggle...: Biography of the Chief of Army (1956 to 2009)] (in Malay) (1st ed.). Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Army Headquarters. ISBN 978-983-4123-62-8.
- ^ "No. 33016". The London Gazette. 30 January 1925. p. 685.
- ^ a b c "General Sir J N R Moore GCVO KCB CBE DSO". The British Empire. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ^ "No. 41826". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 September 1959. p. 6041.
- ^ "No. 44143". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 October 1966. p. 11237.
- ^ "No. 43269". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 March 1964. p. 2257.
- ^ "No. 44147". The London Gazette (Supplement). 20 October 1966. p. 11375.
- ^ "No. 50143". The London Gazette. 4 June 1985. p. 7725.
- ^ "No. 46604". The London Gazette. 10 June 1975. p. 7465.