Sergeant Jack Moat DCM passed away on 12th September 2001. Sgt Moat helped with the production of Firefly though an interview he gave the author in November 2000 and in phone calls before and since. This text and details of his DCM citation appear in the book. I did not know Sgt Moat very well, but he seems like so many of the men who fought in Fireflies for our freedom in WW2, modest and unassuming, yet unique as all individuals are. He was a pre war 1st RTR hand in Egypt and fought throughout the war with the regiment against Italian and German forces, in all manner of under-gunned and under-armoured British and American tanks. His service in Fireflies in Normandy in his Sherman VC "Defiant", brought his DCM for extreme gallantry that led him to be wounded to the extent that he did not see any further combat in WW2 as his regiment advanced into Germany. I am very sad that due to the printing delays Sgt Moat did not live to see the book, that he has helped produce. My heart goes out to Sgt Moats family and to all those men who fought for freedom in the last century's constant wars. The tank did not exist one hundred years ago, but became the symbol of 20th century land warfare. Who knows what systems will assume that icon status in this century, that has begun with such sadness. What ever happens men and women will still have to fight in this century's weapons. The tank still lives and a few Fireflies still soldier on, not bad for a design that came about as a stop gap almost sixty years ago. It's nothing without its crews. So to Sgt Moat and all his comrades then and now: Thank You.
