Robert J Moore (1943-2007)
Bob Moore
was born in Loughborough in 1943 and lived there all his life. His
father, Jack Moore, commanded a minesweeper, the St Barbe
during the war. Bob went
to Loughborough grammar school and left aged seventeen to work at a
local firm of estate agents, W & F Armstrong (today called Mather
Jamie) and qualified as a surveyor. In 1971 he married his wife Pat
Raynor.
Bob
played hockey for Leicestershire and reported on matches for local
papers, and also played rugby and cricket. He was a keen bird watcher,
gardener and allotment holder but he felt there was something missing
from his life after he retired from hockey and cricket and perhaps
influenced by his father’s wartime service in
small boats offered his services to Loughborough’s Sea Cadet Unit, TS Venomous, in 1985. This led to
a
passionate interest in the history of the elderly V & W Class
destroyer after which the Sea Cadet Corp unit was named. He went to
immense lengths to track down the surviving officers and crew of HMS Venomous and his interviews with
them formed the basis of the first edition of this book when it was
self published in 1990.
In 1990 Bob became Officer in
Charge in charge of TS Venomous and
after promotion to Lieutenant he was confirmed as Commanding Officer in
1992. The normal period of service for a CO of a Sea Cadet Unit is five
years but by the time Lt Cdr (SCC) R.J. Moore stood down in 2003 he had
served for thirteen years. Bob became Assistant District Officer for
Northants and Leicestershire Sea Cadets and remained in that post until
his death at the tragically early age of 63 on the 24 February 2007. He died six months
after
retirement from Mather Jamie and eighteen months after the death of his
father, aged 93.
His
good friend, Captain John A Rodgaard USN (Ret),
took over as lead author and Capt John Kingwell RN, a former staff member of TS Venomous, wrote the Foreword
The story of HMS Venomous is told by Bob Moore and Captain John Rodgaard USN (Ret) in
A Hard Fought Ship
Buy the new hardback edition online for £29 post free in the UK
Take a look at the Contents Page and List of Illustrations
