Charles Moore was born in Hurst on 10th January 1889 to Michael and Susan Moore, and was the fifth of eight children. Charles's father was an agricultural labourer and originated from County Kerry in Ireland. The family lived in Davis Street, Hurst and Charles attended Hurst Infants School. At the age of seven he became a pupil in Hurst Boys School and some time after leaving school he became a regular soldier. Charles enlisted with his older brother John and served in Egypt, India and South Africa.

Their father, Michael Moore (also known as John Moore), was an army pensioner. He had served for nearly 23 years, with long term postings in Malta, Gibraltar and South Africa. He married their mother, Susan Smith of Stratfield Turgis, while serving in the Eastern Cape and was awarded the South Africa medal, with the 77-78-79 clasp for his involvement in campaigns, including the 1879 Zulu War.

A soldier normally signed up for twelve years and could then apply to extend that period. He was obliged to complete five or seven years in the colours after which he could choose to join the Reserve. Soldiers in the Reserve returned to civilian life but were paid a retainer and undertook to attend training annually and return to the army in the event of war. With the outbreak of the First World War a general mobilization was signalled and all of the reserves reported back to their units.

It is not known whether Charles was a regular soldier at this time or in the Reserve, but he was certainly in 1st Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers from the time of mobilization. The Battalion had returned to base at Gosport on 30th July 1914 in anticipation of the mobilization order that was circulated on 4th August. Over the next few days around 750 reservists reported for duty and the Battalion numbers swelled to its full complement of around one thousand soldiers.

On 13th August the Battalion received orders to board trains for Southampton and crossed to Le Havre in the troopships Martaban and Appam to join 9th Brigade, 3rd Division. After two days in rest camp the Battalion took trains eastwards to Landrecies and after a seven mile march they reached 9th Brigade's billets at Noyelles-sur Sambre. Charles was now part of the original British Expeditionary Force of six divisions that was famously referred to by the Kaiser as 'General French's contemptible little army'. They had been sent to France hurriedly to join up with the French 5th Army and block the German advance through Belgium that threatened Paris.

The Brigade pushed forward over the next three days and the continuous marching in very hot dry weather took its toll on the men, particularly the reservists who were unaccustomed to such vigorous exercise. By the time they crossed the Belgian border, the Battalion's Medical Officer had already sent back twenty-three men. 1st Battalion reached Ghlin at 1.00 p.m. on 22nd August and at this point the British outriders encountered the German cavalry. The Battalion was ordered to withdraw and dig in to create a defensive line along the canal bank from Jemappes to Mons. The Battalion War Diary briefly describes 1st Royal Scots Fusiliers' part in the Battle of Mons; the first British engagement of the war:

Poor communications and lack of intelligence meant that initially General French did not realise that his 75,000-strong army was facing an enemy with twice as many soldiers and artillery. He was also unaware that the French 5th Army was already in retreat and that his flank was consequently unsupported. Fortunately the professional British Army was more than a match for a German force made up largely of conscripts. Their rapid rifle fire of up to 15 rounds per minute took such a toll that in some quarters the enemy thought they were facing machine guns.

Once the British became aware of their precarious situation, they fell back in a controlled retreat that included several rearguard actions to keep the pursuing Germans at bay. After three days the Expeditionary Force had retired as far as Le Cateau and early on the morning of 26th August they drew up a defensive line to the west of the town and attempted to stem the German advance:

Thus ended the Battle of Le Cateau and the long retreat of the British Expeditionary Force continued. Overall 1st Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers retreated for 13 days, covering 175 miles from Jemappes to Liverdy-en-Brie along roads choked with military transport and civilian refugees. The hot weather and heavy packs made the march very arduous, especially for the reservists, and many suffered terribly from exhaustion and damaged feet. They finally halted to the south-west of Paris at Liverdy-en-Brie on 4th September 1914.

The Germans were within thirty miles of Paris when, on 6th September, the French and British launched a counter-offensive that became known as the Battle of the Marne. Now it was time for the German armies to retreat and the 1st Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers began to advance. Over the next week they chased the retreating enemy northwards for over sixty miles as far as the River Aisne, as the War Diary describes:

On 13th September the German armies took up positions north of the River Aisne to confront the advancing French and British forces. Most of the crossings had been destroyed and so all of 8th and 9th Brigade, including 1st Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, had to cross the river via a single plank spanning the broken road bridge. The Battalion War Diary describes the advance:

This engagement signalled the start of the Battle of the Aisne that continued inconclusively for the next two weeks. Eventually the fighting subsided into the stalemate of trench warfare that was to typify the next four years on the Western Front. 1st Battalion was relieved from the trenches on 20th September and the men had their first real rest since leaving Gosport five weeks previously. Six days later they were back in the trenches before being finally withdrawn on 1st October 1916.

Over the next six days the Battalion marched seventy miles west to Pont Ste. Maxence where they took an overnight train north-east to Rue. Then they marched west for several days into Flanders as part of a manoeuvre by 3rd Division to outflank the German army on high ground south of La Bassée. The Battle of La Bassée commenced on 12th October 1914 and on 18th October the Battalion was ordered to take the chateau in Herlies. They lost 22 men killed and 104 wounded in their unsuccessful attack and spent the next day in reserve before being ordered forward again:

On this day, unmentioned by the Battalion War Diary, Charles Moore was killed in action; he was twenty six years old. Charles has no known grave and in commemorated on the Le Touret memorial, five miles from where he fell. He served in France for only ten weeks but during that time his Battalion had taken part in four major battles and sustained a shocking casualty rate. The Battalion landed in France with slightly under a thousand men but by the time of Charles's death, they were just seventy strong and commanded by a junior subaltern. Charles's brother John Moore was one of the survivors, but he was killed at Ypres the following year.

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