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In memoriam: Major Richard Moore, the Knight of Windsor from Java
Portrait of Major Richard Moore by Trigo Neo Starden
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Portrait of Major Richard Moore by Trigo Neo Starden.
When Major Richard John Moore MVO, one of the 13 Military Knights of Windsor, died on Feb. 23 at the age of 82, it was a sad loss not only for Britain, but also for me personally and for Indonesia. He had been a true friend of the country into which he was born.
Upon his death, the Daily Telegraph ran a lengthy obituary in honor of the man whose services and dedication to the country and queen spanned his entire adult life until his death, including taking part in the 1953 procession of Queen Elizabeth's coronation.
During his time at Windsor, he amassed a substantial dossier of material on Military Knights past and present and made a significant contribution to their history, both published and unpublished, according to the Telegraph.
Upon retirement from military service, he joined the British royal family when he was named a Knight of Windsor, taking up residence in Windsor Castle. In December, the queen made Moore a Member of the Victorian Order (MVO).
The article mentioned that Moore was born on April 2, 1933 on Java, then still under the Dutch East Indies. His father, Rev. Reginald C. Moore, was an English chaplain in Jakarta, which was called Batavia back then. However, as someone privileged to be his friend, I feel the article failed to shed light on his connection to and his love of Indonesia, which I can attest was immense.
Moore never stopped loving Indonesia. I could tell this from his mastery of many Indonesian words. When I met him for the first time at his residence inside the Windsor Castle walls in 2012, he insisted on practicing his Indonesian.
He told me of all the places he had visited in Indonesia and showed me photos, mostly in black and white, taken by his mother in the 1930s in Puncak Pass and Bandung in West Java. He never stopped talking about the spicy Indonesian food he ate.
'My first language is Malay/Indonesian and my first food is nasi goreng [fried rice] and sate for breakfast. I am a truly Java man' he said, a statement that also appeared in his autobiography.
I once had the opportunity to introduce him to Charles Humfrey, a former British ambassador to Indonesia and a chairman of the Indonesian-Anglo Association, at Windsor Castle and guess what? Richard cooked nasi goreng for us.
His house inside the castle compound was filled with artifacts that would remind him of Indonesia, from the silverware from Jepara in Central Java at the entrance of his house that survived the Japanese occupation, wayang golek leather puppets and a pair of keris, a photo of which was used on the cover of his autobiography.
Richard was always full of life and humor. One time at an Indonesian-Anglo Association event, he shocked his guests when he called to me in Indonesian: 'Sini kamu!' (Come here, you!), a phrase that would be considered rude except when used among best friends.
He gave me a book entitled History of the Military Knights of Windsor 1348-2011, which he co-wrote with his wife Jenny, autographing it with greetings in Indonesian.
Richard, who spent his early years in Indonesia, witnessed the birth of Indonesia. Even though he was barely a teenager at that time, he was able to vividly retell events leading to Independence Day in 1945 during an interview for an Indonesian TV network in 2014. He and his mother left Batavia in the nick of time just before the Japanese occupation began. Meanwhile, his father stayed on to give services at his church.
He once asked me to translate his birth certificate, written in Indonesian and Dutch, into English. I got my mother to help translate the Dutch part and when I gave him the complete translation he was so delighted for he had finally learned what was written on it.
He attended many Indonesian events in London. He was so fond of Indonesian Ambassador Hamzah Thayeb and his wife Lastry that he never stopped talking about the couple on the ride home after their farewell party in January.
Richard was an important bridge linking Indonesia and the UK and with his background he must be counted as having been among the important building blocks that contributed to strengthening bilateral relations, Hamzah said.
Richard was widowed three times and married his fourth wife, Jennifer Holt, in 2004.
Jenny lived in Indonesia in the 1970s with her first husband. When she married Richard, they were able to talk about the common places they had visited, although at different times.
'We both remembered fondly the Puncak Pass because the cooler climate was a pleasant change from Jakarta. We both loved nasi goreng and I was delighted to find that Richard not only loved it, but cooked it very well too,' she said.
Richard and Jenny regularly took me to the Chapel of All Saints in the Windsor Great Park, where the queen worshiped, to attend services there. He invited me to the Queen's Garter Day last year when he was conferred the MVO, one of the most prestigious awards from the monarch.
For all his achievements, he was not only humble but also generous in sharing as much as he could, which reminded me of basic characters commonly found among Indonesian people.
His passing away is a sad loss for me. He took me in and mentored me like I was his family. He was a true Military Knight of Windsor from Java.
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Trigo Neo Starden is an Indonesian artist who lived in the United Kingdom for more than 20 years.
