When a decorated officer and his son died within an hour of each other at the Battle of Passchendaele, their sacrifice became a symbol of the senseless slaughter of the First World War.
There were tributes in the press and thousands attended the memorial service of Major Harry Moorhouse DSO and his son Captain Ronald Moorhouse MC at Wakefield Cathedral in their native Yorkshire.
Now, as their relatives prepare to join the royal family to mark the centenary this month of the beginning of the Third Battle of Ypres, of which Passchendaele formed part, they have discovered letters that show how the caring behaviour of the father led both men to their deaths.
The Moorhouses were involved in an attack to capture the Flanders ridges around Ypres in October 1917. They were hampered by heavy rain that churned the soil into a swamp and were exposed to heavy artillery and machinegun fire.
When Ronald was mortally wounded, his father, then an acting lieutenant-colonel, insisted on fetching a doctor, walking through shell holes and swamp under sniper fire.
Advertisement
An unknown soldier described what happened in a letter written in pencil to Harry’s wife, Susanna: “I tried to dissuade him and told him I was going back myself . . . and would send a Dr on from the nearest aid post.”
Harry insisted on going, however. “We had not gone far before the sniper spotted us & started a hot fire & about half way I heard a groan and turned to see the Major stumble forward & collapse . . . He died in my arms.
“I eventually got on to the aid post & the Dr went out to his son & on his return reported him dead also.”
Now Rebecca Lisle, Harry’s great-granddaughter, who unearthed the letter, has also found documents showing that Ronald need never have been there — but his father had arranged to have him transferred to his battalion, the 4th King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.
Lisle, a children’s author who lives near Bristol, said: “I like to think they would have survived without that disastrous chain of events. Harry thought he was looking out for Ronald. Until now I don’t think anybody has pieced it together.”
Advertisement
Lisle will be at the official ceremony at the Tyne Cot cemetery at Ypres and will lay a wreath at the Menin Gate. The event will include the horse puppet Joey from the play War Horse.
The Third Battle of Ypres took place between July 31 and November 10, 1917. About 250,000 British troops were killed or wounded for an advance of five miles.