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Life on the Western Front was hard going even for those who were young and relatively fit. While Richard Moore, a 41 year old former hotelier from Launceston, may have been fit enough to pass the medical examination and be accepted into the Australian Imperial Force, it was another thing to be able to survive the rigors and privations of the Front Line. At the end of December 1917, the medical board decided that due to his age, general debility and neurasthenia that he should return to Australia for discharge.
Richard Moore, a married man with three children, including a son Claude who was already serving at the front, volunteered for enlistment in February 1916. Having served three years with the Southern Artillery, he was allotted to the 120th Howitzers, 6 Field Artillery Brigade. According to an obituary at one time he fought alongside his son before being allotted to the Australian Army Medical Corps details. Just when or for what action he was awarded a Military Medal is unclear as his citation is not on his service record nor on the Australian War Memorial website.
On returning to Tasmania, Richard Moore appears to have been keen to continue supporting the war effort as a recruiting officer. Later he became a land and estate agent and hotel broker. In his youth he had been a prominent footballer but later took up lawn bowls. He was a Justice of the Peace and a member of the Launceston Baptist Church.
Richard Moore died at Hobart on 18th January 1942 and was later buried at Carr Villa Cemetery.