Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell - Moore C.B.E., Hon.F.R.S., F.R.A.S. ( March 4th, 1923 - December 9th, 2012 ) was born in Pinner ( Middlesex, England ). His family moved to Bognor Regis, and subsequently to East Grinstead ( both in West Sussex, England ) where he spent his childhood. His youth was marked by heart problems, which left him in poor health and he was educated at home by private tutors.
When he was 6 years old, his mother, to whom he was especially attached, gave him a copy of George F. Chambers’ The story of the Solar System ( 1895 ), which first sparked his interest in astronomy. He joined the British Astronomical Association at the age of 11. In 1936 ( aged 13 ), he published Small Craterlets in the Mare Crisium, his first scientific paper on the moon. At the age of 16, he began wearing a monocle after an oculist told him his right eye was weaker than his left. 3 years later, he began wearing a full set of dentures.
Patrick Moore wanted to go to Cambridge University ( Cambridgeshire, England ) to study geology but, as he said : " Hitler changed my plans ". During the Second World War, Patrick Moore joined the East Grinstead Home Guard ( where his father had been elected Platoon Commander ), as well as the A.R.P. ( Air Raid Precautions ). He then enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve ( R.A.F.V.R., 1800747 ) at the age of 18 ( December 31st, 1941 ) and was not called up for service until July 13th, 1942, as an Aircraftman 2nd Class ( A.C. 2 ). His short career as an R.A.F. airman can be summerized as follows :
- Air Crew Receiving Centre ( A.C.R.C. ) at Lord's Cricket Ground ( St. John's
Wood, London, England ).
- R.A.F. Ludlow and R.A.F. Cosford ( both in Shropshire, England ).
- R.A.F. Stretton ( Cheshire, England ).
- No. 4 Initial Training Wing ( I.T.W. ), R.A.F. Paignton ( Devon, England ).
- No. 6th Elementary Training Flying School ( E.F.T.S. ), R.A.F. Sywell (
Northamptonshire, England ).
- Leading Aircraftman ( L.A.C. ).
- R.A.F. College, R.A.F. Cranwell ( Lincolnshire, England ).
- " G " Flight, No. 1 Squadron, R.A.F. Heaton Park ( Manchester, England ).
- Air Crew Despatch Centre ( A.C.D.C. ), R.A.F. Heaton Park ( Manchester,
England ).
- Sent to Canada under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (
B.C.A.T.P., December 1943 ), he disembarked in Halifax ( Nova Scotia ).
- Mail Address : Military Post Office ( M.P.O. ) No. 304, R.C.A.F. ( Ottawa,
Ontario ).
- R.A.F. Moncton ( New Brunswick ).
- M.P.O. No. 211, R.C.A.F. " A " Block ( Hamilton, Ontario ).
- No. 33 Air Navigation School ( A.N.S. ), R.C.A.F. Hamilton ( Mount Hope,
Ontario ).
- Appointed Pilot Officer on probation ( 165462, June 2nd, 1944 ).
- Mail Address : Military Post Office ( M.P.O. ) No. 304, R.C.A.F. ( Ottawa,
Ontario ).
- Graduated as a Navigator.
- R.A.F. Moncton ( New Brunswick ).
- Returned to Great Britain on the " Empress of Scotland " ( July 1944 ).
- R.A.F. Harrogate ( Yorkshire, England ).
- Mail Address : " A " Wing, No. 10 Course, No. 1 Officers Mess, Aircrew
Officers School ( A.C.O.S., Credenhill ), R.A.F. Hereford ( Herefordshire,
England ).
- No. 2 ( Observers ) Advanced Flying Unit, ( O ) A.F.U., R.A.F. Millom (
Cumbria, England ).
- R.A.F. Barrow ( Cumbria, England ).
- No. 20 Operational Training Unit ( O.T.U., Moray, Scotland ).
- Promoted Flying Officer ( December 2nd, 1944 ).
- R.A.F. St. Davids ( Pembrokeshire, Wales ).
- No. 71 Base, No. 7 ( Operational Training ) Group ( Heavy Conversion
Units ), R.A.F. Lindholme ( Yorkshire, England ).
After the war, Patrick Moore remained in the R.A.F. :
- Flying Officer ( commission relinquished, November 24th, 1945 ).
- Pilot Officer ( December 5th, 1945 ).
- Training Branch, Pilot Officer ( appointment to commission, June 13th,
1946 ).
- Flight Commander, East Grinstead Air Training Cadets.
- Pilot Officer ( commission resigned, September 5th, 1947 ).
Patrick Moore rejected a grant to study at the University of Cambridge, citing a wish to " stand on my own two feet ". He was a teacher in Woking ( Surrey, England ) and at Holmewood House School in Langton Green ( Kent, England ) from 1948 to 1953. He wrote his first book, Guide to the Moon ( later retitled Patrick Moore on the Moon ) in 1952, and it was published a year later. Patrick Moore developed a particular interest in the far side of the Moon, a small part of which is visible from Earth as a result of the Moon's libration ; the Moon was his specialist subject throughout his life.
His first television appearance was in a debate about the existence of flying saucers following a spate of reported sightings in the 1950's ; Patrick Moore argued against Lord Dowding and other U.F.O. proponents. He was invited to present a live astronomy programme. The very programme was originally named " Star Map " before " The Sky at Night " was chosen in the Radio Times. On April 24th, 1957, at 10:30 p.m., Patrick Moore presented the first episode. In 1959, the Russians allowed Patrick Moore to be the first Westerner to see the photographic results of the Luna 3 probe, and to show them live on air.
In 1965, he was appointed Director of the newly constructed Armagh Planetarium in Northern Ireland ( a post he held until 1968 ). In developing the Planetarium, Patrick Moore travelled to Japan to secure a Goto Mars projector. He helped with the redevelopment of the Birr Telescope ( Republic of Ireland ). He was a key figure in the development of the Herschel Museum of Astronomy in Bath ( Somerset, England ). During the NASA Apollo programme, presenting on the Apollo 8 mission, Patrick Moore said that " this is one of the great moments of human history ", only to have his broadcast interrupted by the children's programme Jackanory ( 1965 - 1996 ).
He was elected a member of the International Astronomical Union in 1966 ; having twice edited the Union's General Assembly newsletters. He compiled the Caldwell catalogue of astronomical objects and in 1982, asteroid 2602 Moore was named in his honour. Patrick Moore celebrated the record - breaking 700th episode of " The Sky at Night " at his home ( Selsey, West Sussex, England ) on March 6th, 2011. In January 2012, because of arthritis and the effects of an old spinal injury, he was no longer able to operate a telescope. However, he was still able to present " The Sky at Night " from his home. Patrick Moore died at the age of 89.
( sources : Wikipedia, royalsocietypublishing.org, www.rafcommands.com, www.theguardian.com, www.rafweb.org, discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk, books.google.be, www.airhistory.org.uk, postalhistorycorner.blogspot.com )