Bone

Denise Moody of Dunedin, New Zealand, contacted us in May 2014 to inform us about her grandfather Edward Bone, who had won the DCM in October 1918. The email read:

My Mother-in-law Mary Ellen Moody, nee Bone died in New Zealand last year age 89. We have been unable to find where Mary was born on 5th December 1923, she was married in the All Saints Church on 25th May 1942 to Ernest Arthur Moody a New Zealand Serviceman. Her maiden name was Bone, she was the daughter of Edward and Alice Bone who lived and worked on the Estate of Leydene. My husband Robin and his older sister Shirley were both baptised in the All Saints Church before the family left for New Zealand at the end of 1944. Any information you could give us would be very much appreciated.

An account of Edward Bone’s action was published in the August edition, 2014, of Meon Matters, click here for the article, on the East Meon History website. The citation, published in the London Gazette, reads:

For conspicuous gallantry during operations round Gheluwe on 30^th September 1918. His platoon being held up, he worked forward and rushed a pill-box, capturing two machine-guns and 27 prisoners. Later, he remained behind with his company commander and provided covering fire until all their ammunition was expended, thus enabling the platoon to withdraw.”

History Group member David Hopkins has conducted further research into the action on October 2nd, and we shall be adding more source materials, including maps of the battle field, as this progresses. David has also researched the families of both Edward Bone and Alice Richards and his notes are attached as PDFs.