Ephraim Henry (Harry) Moss of Coburg and Fawkner enlists

Ephraim (Harry) Moss's name is listed on the Coburg Town Hall Honour Board.

Ephraim (Harry) Moss in later life, wearing his war medals, 

Sydney. (courtesy Ancestry family tree)

3107 Pte Ephraim Henry Moss, proprietor of King's Theatre, Fawkner, enlisted at Melbourne, on 6 February 1917 in the 7 Reinforcements, 39th Battalion. He claimed to be 39 years old, but was actually forty-four. He embarked on 19 February 1917 on HMAT Ballarat, the same ship as John Wilson McEwan, Alfred Akam, Albert Ridgeway from the Brunswick/Coburg area), a ship that was torpedoed and sunk on Anzac Day 1917. He did not see any active service and returned to Australia, disembarking in Melbourne on 30 December 1918 on account of his age and suffering from debility. 

At that stage his wife Sadie and their children Cyril and Dorothy were living at 11 Rodda Street, Coburg. He returned to the family home briefly, but by April 1919 he had relocated to Sydney.

From this point, I have not been able to track the stories of Sadie Moss and her children, but Ephraim Henry (Harry) continued his colourful life.

The first sign of his new life in Sydney comes on 5 April 1919 when Smith's Weekly reported on the 'Case of Sergeant Moss Clubbed and Gaoled'. He'd been picked up by Military Police at the Randwick Spring Meeting (in 1918, so while the war was still going) for wearing an unauthorised uniform. He argued that he was working for the State Recruiting Committee and was entitled to wear it, but he was taken to Darlinghurst Gaol under protest. Eventually he was freed, and it is still unclear whether he was really working for the Recruiting Committee. 

In 1920 he married Daisy Welch at Balmain, so it seems that he and Sadie divorced, although I've found no evidence of this. At this time he was described in various newspaper reports as a fruiterer. Two daughters were born - one in 1921, the other in 1922. 

Moss appeared in the press again in 1923 when he was charged by Redfern police with being the keeper of a gaming house. 

Fast forward to November 1934 and Moss stood for the council elections at Erskinville and received 33 votes. (The next lowest was 238.) It would be interesting to know his motivation as it is quite clear from the voting numbers that he did not have community support.

His second wife Daisy died in 1940 and he married his third wife Pearl Byrom the following year and added three step-daughters to his family.

Moss appeared in the press again in March 1946 when the Truth published an article on 73 year old Ephraim Moss who had been beaten up and robbed in the street when he was returning home from a two-up school. He was described as frail and deaf and wore 'a returned soldier's badge from the last war.'

Truth, 3 March 1946. Also reported in The Sun, 26 February 1946

Moss's third wife Pearl died in 1947. He died on 15 May 1953 and was buried at Rookwood Cemetery. 

Note the words 'Lest We Forget' at the top and the letters 'AIF' before his death date.

And so, although this saga began in 1915 with the assault on Sadie Moss at Fawkner, it ends in 1953 in Sydney with the death of her husband Ephraim.

If anyone reading this can tell me more about Sadie Moss and her children Dorothy and Cyril, please get in touch (gcheryl52@gmail.com).

A note on the Moss siblings:

Moss was a member of a large Jewish family of 16 children (11 boys and 5 girls), all but one boy living to adulthood. The family, whose name was originally Moses, lived variously in Bungendore, NSW, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. Their parents Ephraim Moss (a Liverpudlian) and Amelia (Millie) Solomons (an East Ender) married in London and came to Australia in 1855 as newlyweds.

Ephraim Henry was the youngest of six brothers who enlisted:

Louis Charles Moss (born 1871) enlisted in the 13th Battalion in Sydney on 22 September 1914 aged 43. He suffered dangerous gunshot wounds to his lungs and head while serving on the Gallipoli Peninsula and returned to Australia in November 1915. He died in September 1941.

Edward Elias Moss (born about 1869) enlisted in Sydney on 15 December 1914 aged 44 and sailed with the 4th Battalion (3rd Reinforcements). He received serious abdominal injuries at Lone Pine and died at sea on 8 August 1915.

Alexander Isaac Moss (born 1861) enlisted at Bendigo in the 3rd Pioneers on 17 April 1916. At the time he was living at the Village Settlement, Echuca. He said he was a 43 year old farmer (in fact he was 55), and returned to Australia after severe injuries to his fingers while serving in France. The Brunswick and Coburg Leader of 30 June 1916 lists him as having left with the Campbellfield Pioneers, although I have yet to verify this.

Nathaniel Zodick Moss (born 1857) said he was 49 when he enlisted in Western Australia on 23 April 1917. He had first claimed to be 44 and said that previously he'd been rejected for being under height (he was 5' 1"). He was actually 60 years old. He did not serve overseas. In fact he got no further than camps at Seymour and Bendigo where he was considered 'too old and frail' and was suffering from fatigue. He developed pneumonia, was removed to the Isolation Camp at Ascot Vale and finally, despite his 'keen' attitude, after 207 days in camp (and hospital) was discharged for being overage.

Alfred Michael Moss (born 1870) enlisted in the Army Medical Corps in Sydney on 22 April 1918 when he claimed to be 44 (he was 48). He'd been rejected before on account of a hernia but served on the staff of the hospital ship Karoola, leaving Australia on 18 September 1918.

This ends the saga of the Moss family's involvement with the Fawkner community and World War One. I hope you have found the journey I've been on while doing this research interesting.