Richard Stanley Hawks Moody

Birth and family

Hawks-Moody was born in Strada Reale, Valetta, Malta on 23 October 1854, the eldest son of Major General Richard Clement Moody, the first Governor of the Falkland Islands and founder and first Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia, and Mary Susannah Hawks of the Hawks industrial dynasty, daughter of merchant banker Joseph Hawks JP DL, Sheriff of Newcastle, and Mary Boyd of the Boyd merchant banking family. Mary Hawks's maternal uncles included Admiral Benedictus Marwood Kelly and industrialist Edward Fenwick Boyd. Hawks-Moody's paternal grandfather was Colonel Thomas Moody JP, Knight (Order of Military Merit).

Via his mother's descent from Agnes Chaytor he was a direct descendant of the ancient House of Clervaux, after whom his brother, Henry de Clervaux Moody, was named in line with family tradition and via whom he was a direct descendant of Edward III, the House of Plantagenet, and Charlemagne on multiple lines.

Early life

Having been born in Malta where his father had been posted, he spent his infancy in the Colony of British Columbia (1858–66), of which his father was founder and Lieutenant Governor. He is regularly mentioned in the letters written by his mother, Mary Hawks, to England from various colonies of the British Empire.

Hawks-Moody and his brothers were educated at Ludlow Grammar School, Cheltenham College and Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

Military service

Hawks-Moody was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant in the 3rd Regiment of Foot on 9 August 1873.

He served in the Anglo-Zulu War, 1879, as an adjutant in Zululand with the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Regiment of Foot. He was Brigade Major at Malta, 1885–90. Between 1895 and 1897, he served in the Chitral Expedition, where he was part of General Gatacre's flying column.

He was part of the Malakand Field Force in 1897, during which he was 2nd in command of 3rd Regiment of Foot under General Sir Bindon Blood, after whom he named his youngest daughter, Barbara Bindon. During this conflict, Hawks Moody was mentioned in dispatches and fought alongside Winston Churchill, who mentions him in Chapter XII (At Inayat Kila) of his history of the conflict, The Story of the Malakand Field Force.

Between 1899 and 1902, Hawks Moody served in the Second Boer War, for which he was mentioned in dispatches at least twice. He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 24 February 1900 to command a battalion of the Royal Munster Fusiliers, which was not raised, so he was sent to South Africa on special service, and commanded the 2nd battalion of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, from January 1901 to end of campaign. In this position he was again mentioned in despatches. Following the end of the war in June 1902, he returned to England on the SS Custodian, landing at Southampton in August. For his service in this conflict he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the South Africa honours list published on 26 June 1902, and received both the Queen’s and King’s medals with 5 clasps.

During World War One, he served as Colonel of 7th Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers, Colonel of 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers., Commandant of a School of Instruction for Officers at Dover (1915) and Commander of a battalion of the Royal Pioneer Corps from 1917 to 1918, after which he retired from active service.

Hawks-Moody was appointed an honorary Colonel of the Buffs (East Kent Regiment) and a Military Knight of Windsor in 1919. He was a member of the Naval and Military Club.

Hawks-Moody lost his brother, Henry de Clervaulx Moody, in the Second Boer War, and his only son, Thomas Lewis Vyvian Moody, in the First World War (see below).

Hawks-Moody wrote The Historical Records of The Buffs (East Kent Regiment), 3rd Foot, 1914–1919, which was published in 1923. He gave the first copy of the book to the Royal Library, Windsor, in 1922.

Marriage

In 1887, Hawks-Moody married Mary Latimer (d.1936), daughter of John Latimer of Leeds. Hawks-Moody' father-in-law was the son of Anne Moody, who was the daughter of Dr George Moody, the brother of his grandfather, Colonel Thomas Moody (1779-1849).

Hawks-Moody and Mary Latimer had four children:

1. Mary Latimer (b.1883, d.1960). Married Major-General James Fitzgerald Martin at Exeter Cathedral, 1906. Had 1 daughter, Mary Charlotte (b.1909).
2. Marjorie (b.1886, d. unknown). Married Arthur Brown, 1914. Had 2 sons, George Arthur and Thomas Lionel.
3. Thomas Lewis Vyvian (b. 1896, India, d. 21 March 1918, killed in action). Educated at Eastbourne College and Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Lieutenant Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment). Whilst in command of two platoons surrounded by German troops, Thomas was shot by a German officer with a revolver whilst leading his men in an attempt to break through the enveloping German forces. He is commemorated at the Arras Memorial, France. No issue.
4. Barbara Bindon (b. 1903, India, d. 1973). Married James William Webb-Jones, 20 December 1930, at Parish Church, Windsor. Had 1 daughter, Bridget (b. September 5, 1937) who married Peter Lyons (musician) at Wells Cathedral in 1957.