· Service Number: 10/1173
.Born: Scotts Gap, Otautau, in 1891
.Parents: Henry and Catherine F. Moffat,
Orawia, Southland, NZ
.Marital Status: Single
.Army: NZEF, Taranaki Company,
Wellington Regiment
.Body of Embarkation: Main Body
.Place of Embarkation: Wellington, NZ
.Embarkation Date: 16 October 1914
.Transport: HMNZT 7 HMNZT 10
.Vessel: Limerick or Arawa
.Destination: Suez, Egypt
· Date of death: 8 August 1915
.Place of death: Gallipoli
.Conflict: WW1
.Cause of Death: Killed in action
.Cemetery:
Harry, who was Henry and Catherine's second son, kept in close letter contact with his mother.
By the end of 1914, Harry was sent to Egypt with his Regiment to undertake training
for desert warfare, and then sent on to Gallipoli to fight in that campaign in early 1915,
but Harry was caught in the line of fire and wounded after only half a day in battle.
It seems that at this time, Catherine was wrongly informed that Harry was dead,
as the following letter shows...
HARRY MOFFATS LETTER – includes all errors:
21/6/15 (1915)
Dear Mother
I received two letters the day before yesterday
from you dated 20th May and 9th April in
the later you said you had a telegram saying
I was dead it must have been an awful relief
to hear I was only wounded. Well Mother I
am quite well again and have left the
convalescent camp and am in the base
waiting for the next boat to go back to the front
I may go tomorrow or it may be the end of the
week. What do you think of the causality list
a bit hot isn't it you will have some idea of
what we went through. there ought not to be
any difficulty to get volunteers now I haven't
received any of the paper or parcels you
spoke of, we have only got letters since we
went to the Dardanells there is a shed
at the docks as big as the Orawia hall chock
full of mail waiting to be sorted.
I remain Your Loving Son Harry.
Dear Mother
I received two letters the day before yesterday
from you dated 20th May and 9th April in
the later you said you had a telegram saying
I was dead it must have been an awful relief
to hear I was only wounded. Well Mother I
am quite well again and have left the
convalescent camp and am in the base
waiting for the next boat to go back to the front
I may go tomorrow or it may be the end of the
week. What do you think of the causality list
a bit hot isn't it you will have some idea of
what we went through. there ought not to be
any difficulty to get volunteers now I haven't
received any of the paper or parcels you
spoke of, we have only got letters since we
went to the Dardanells there is a shed
at the docks as big as the Orawia hall chock
full of mail waiting to be sorted.
I remain Your Loving Son Harry.
[How heart-breaking
for Harry’s mother to hear her
son was not dead, only wounded. Then straight after
this, she would have heard that he was really was
dead, and it was no mistake this time; Harry was
killed in battle just 2 ½ weeks after he wrote to her.]
son was not dead, only wounded. Then straight after
this, she would have heard that he was really was
dead, and it was no mistake this time; Harry was
killed in battle just 2 ½ weeks after he wrote to her.]
Equally sadly, the wedding of Harry Moffat to Miss Carpenter which was postponed after their engagement at Christmas time in 1913 - to allow Harry to go to war - never took place as he was killed in action.
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