Alfred Moore

Seaman Alfred Moore of Ballymartin, Co. Down died on 8th April 1942 when aircraft carrier HMS Hermes went down after an aerial bombing raid by the Japanese.

Seaman

Alfred Moore

D/X 18007A

Seaman Alfred Moore of Ballymartin, Co. Down died while serving with the Royal Navy on board the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes.

Seaman Alfred Moore (D/X 18007A) served in the Royal Naval Reserve during the Second World War. He was the son of David Moore and Esther Moore of Ballymartin, Co. Down, and the husband of Eliza Jane Moore of Ballymartin, Co. Down.

He died on 9th April 1942 aged 41 years old while serving on HMS Hermes. This vessel was the first purpose-built aircraft carrier launched. During Japanese raids on Trincomalee, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Hermes was undergoing repairs. The carrier left port in advance of the raids but on returning on 9th April 1942, a Japanese reconnaissance plane spotted Hermes off the coast at Batticaloa.

As HMS Hermes was under repair, there were no planes on board when 70 bombers attacked. Hermes went down after taking 40 hits. A total of 307 crew members died as a result of the sinking. Australian Destroyer HMAS Vampire, British Corvette HMS Hollyhock, HMS Athelstane, and RFA British Sergeant also went down in the attack.

Alfred Moore has no known grave. His name is on Panel 75, Column 1 of the Plymouth Naval Memorial, Plymouth, Devon.