Moore CHEADLE was baptized in Uttoxeter in 1670.
At the time of his son Edward's baptism in 1698 Moore CHEADLE's profession was described as a Drummer.
We know from a clandestine marriage record from London dated August 1714, when Moore married Joan WOODDARD of Shorts Gardens, that Moore was a soldier in the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards (later named the Grenadier Guards).
If he joined the newly forming regiment as a boy - most likely as a fifer - then he might have been present at the battle of Sedgemoor in 1685 between the rebel Duke of Monmouth and King James II. Monmouth's army was crushed and he was executed.
There then followed campaigns to Steenkirk (1692), Landen (1693) and Namur (1695). A pause in fighting abroad may have allowed for his marriage to Mary and the birth of his son Thomas in December 1694 and Edward in 1698, at which point he was a Drummer. There is a romantic notion of the drummer boy, but Drummers were usually full grown men. They were responsible for transmitting orders during fighting using special drum beats and also acted as medics.
The next campaigns were part of the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) including fighting under Duke of Marlborough including the battles of Schellenberg (1704), Blenheim (1704), Ramillies (1706), and Malplaquet (1709). During this period the British captured Minorca and Gibraltar, which were retained as part of the treaties signed at the end of the war. One battalion of the Foot Guards were dispatched to Cadiz in 1704 to garrison Gibraltar, from where they captured Barcelona. During 1706 they successfully defended Gibraltar against the multiple Spanish attempts to retake it.
It is thought that Mary died in 1702, possibly because families left at home received no statutory income, unless arrangements were made by the individual soldier.
The regiment returned home in 1713, which ties in with a marriage in November 1713, to Elizabeth Woodstock at which time Moore was still described as a Drummer. Surprisingly the marriage to Joan WOODDARD followed in August 1714. There is no record of Elizabeth's burial.
By 1714 he would have been 44 years old and served for 25 years. The next campaign followed in 1740, so it is likely that he remained in London on ceremonial and guard duties until he was discharged or died.
Additional detail:
The War of the Spanish Succession 1702
The First Foot Guards were the only Guards regiment to fight under the Duke of Marlborough in Europe for the first six years of his campaigns. In 1704 a force which included the First Guards attacked the French and Bavarian forces on the Danube where they had fortified a hill called the Schellenberg. The Grenadier Company spearheaded the attack. In an hour and a half the fortress was taken. Six week later on the 13 th August the Battle of Blenheim took place and the First Guards won the Battle Honour ‘Blenheim’ The First Guards formed up with five Line Regiments attacked a fortified French position, but were unable to take it, but they did make the French take their eye of the ball and pave the way for the cavalry to charge with great success and defeated the French.
On the 23 rd May 1706 once again the First Guards were the only Guards regiment involved in the victory at Ramillies. In 1708 The Coldstream Guards joined them and both regiments were present at the Battle of Oudenarde on 11 th July 1708 and Malplaquet on 11 th September 1709. The Guards eventually returned home in March of 1713.
In 1704 the Rock of Gibraltar was captured from the Spanish. Reinforcement were needed to hold it. A Composite Guards battalion was formed consisting of 200 First Guards and 400 from the Coldstream Guards and sent to Gibraltar where they successfully repelled several attacks to retake the Rock. From these actions they acquired the Battle Honour ‘Gibraltar’. From there they took to the Spanish mainland and captured Barcelona. In 1707 the British forces were defeated at the Battle of Almanza and forced to surrender. In 1710 the Scottish Foot Guards had joined the British Army in Spain. The army was once again defeated at Brihuega. This second defeat ended operations in Spain.
In 1707 the Act of Union was completed and the Scottish Foot Guards were brought south as a whole for the first time, also at this time they took to wearing the Order of the Thistle badge and changed the facing colour of their uniform from white to Royal Blue, to match the other two Guard regiments. They did not return to Scotland again until 1911. In 1712 the regiment was given the title Third Regiment of Foot Guards a title they held until 1831 when they took on the title Scots Fusilier Guards.