814 Bombardier MOSS Joel

4th Division Trench Mortar Battery 

Joel was born in Lancashire, England in about 1893. A farmworker, he was the son of Francis and Martha Moss of Grenfell Road Young. Joel enlisted at Holsworthy on 15 December 1914, at the stated age of 21. 

He embarked from Sydney on HMAT A6 Clan Maccorquodale on 6 February 1915 joining his Unit, the 1st Light Horse Regiment in Gallipoli on 15 July 1915.

Joel suffered from ill health and was hospitalised in Gallipoli with influenza on 15 July 1915. He rejoined his Unit at Madros but was hospitalised again, in Heliopolis, with influenza and enteric fever on 1 January 1916. Joel was discharged from hospital and on 16 April 1916 and transferred to 4th Trench Mortar Battery, Serapeum, Egypt. Moving to Marselles, France onboard the HMT Oriana 13 June 1916. Joel entered the training school before rejoining the 4th Division Trench Motor Battery on 19 July 1916. He was promoted to Bombardier on 24 July 1916.

Joel was killed in action 5 May 1917 with approximately 80 other men from his Company, in front of Noreuil on the Somme near Bullecourt, when a shell exploded an ammunitions dump. Many of the only 20 survivors remembered the incident and Joel’s death. 1870 Gunner KING recalled: “I was close by him when he was killed. He was on guard at a dump about half a mile from Bullecourt on an outpost. The dump was blown up by a shell. His body was recovered and buried close by, by members of the Batty. I believe a cross was erected. I knew him in the batty. He came over with a Light Horse Regiment from Australia. He came from NSW.” Joel is remembered at VillersBretonneux Memorial, Picardie, France