(This piece was originally published in the 'FMHC Interim Report', 1994 pp27-32).
Sebastian Moran was born in London in 1840. He was the son of Sir Augustus Moran C.B., once British Minister to Persia. At the time of his birth, Persia was a major factor in the security of the North-West Frontier of Britain's Indian possessions. The Russians were constantly seeking to gain influence in Afghanistan in order to threaten India, and it was through Persia that they sought to achieve this. At the time of his son's birth, Sir Augustus would have been heavily involved with the Persian side of the First Afghan War, Britain's first, disastrous attempt to prevent the Russians gaining influence over the North-West Frontier. His father's work in this region and particularly his role in this campaign would have been a major influence on the young Sebastian and account for his seeking his career on the frontier as well.
As befitted the son of a British Minister and diplomat, Sebastian was educated at Eton and Oxford. It will be remembered that one of the smartest criminals of the 1880s, John Clay, also had this education. We know nothing more of his academic career beyond this.
Sebastian Moran would probably have left Oxford in 1861 or 1862. We know nothing of his career from then until the mention of his having taken part in the Jowaki campaign of 1877. What did he do during the intervening fifteen years? It his highly likely that the travels which culminated in his first published work 'Heavy Game of the Western Himalayas' occurred during this time. This book was published in 1881 and, to judge by similar works of other authors would be the result of a number of years of experiences. However, from 1877 to at least 1880, Moran was involved in the various military campaigns listed in Holmes' biography. Thus his Himalayan travels must have taken place prior to 1877. A British officer travelling in this area at this time would be engaged in only one activity; intelligence work. The Great Game with Russia was played in the mountains of the Western Himalayas and Moran was one of the players. This then would explain the lack of information concerning him during this period, as in 1894 his activities would still be veiled in secrecy. His cover for being in the area would be hunting and exploration of course, and it would have been these aspects that would be covered in his book.
From 1877 Moran became involved in more routine military work. A British force of some 1500 men was sent out under Colonel Mocatta punish the Jowaki Afridis of the North-West Frontier, and Moran went with them. By now he was probably an officer in the 1st Bengalore Pioneers, a pseudonym for an unknown regiment of the Indian Army miners and sappers. His years of exploration in the inhospitable mountains would have suited him for command in a regiment of engineers. Like Watson, Moran then became involved in the Second Afghan War. Like the First Afghan War, this series of campaigns was prompted by a perceived Russian threat to the North-West Frontier. Moran's list of battle honours shows that he was involved from the start. The short Afghan Campaign of 1878 forced the Afghan Amir to accept a British mission at Cabul. In 1879 the envoy and his staff were murdered by the Afghans after a heroic defence of the Residency. In response to this outrage British troops marched on Cabul and at the Battle of Charasiab on October 6th 1879 they defeated a large Afghan force and entered the capital. Moran's actions during this engagement earned him a mention in dispatches. Once in Cabul the British took up defensive positions at Sherpur and fought off an Afghan attempt to dislodge them on December 23rd 1879, effectively establishing their position. The final battle listed in Holmes' biography of Moran is 'Cabul'. Whilst this is sometimes used as an alternative name for the Battle of Sherpur - indeed that is how the name used on regimental battle honours - this is cannot be how it is used in this case. No later action of the war occurred at Cabul, so what is the engagement listed here? Eliminating the impossible, the only action that fits is the defence of the Cabul residency described above. Since officially all seventy nine defenders of the residency were killed, we can only assume that Moran was there unofficially, in his role as an agent, disguised as an Afghan perhaps. If he was present though, he seems to have received no honour for it except perhaps a promotion.
By the 1880s Sebastian Moran was a Colonel with almost twenty years of experience in one of the most hostile frontiers in the world. His hunting expertise was legendary; Holmes described him as ' ... the best shot in India ... ' if not ' ... one of the best shots in the world ... ', with a ' ... bag of tigers ... ' that ' ... still remains unrivalled ...'. A man of daring and iron nerve; the tale of how he ' ... crawled down a drain after a wounded man-eating tiger' was told in India for many years. At this point we get the first indication of Moran the criminal. Without any open scandal, he made his continued existence in India impossible so he retired and came to London, where he again acquired an evil name. What it was that he had done we cannot tell. There is certainly evidence, as we shall see later, that he cheated at cards. It might have been this that caused his downfall, although his membership of two card playing clubs, the Bagatelle and the Tankerville would suggest that his credentials were fairly sound. At any event Moran acquired enough of a reputation to attract the eye of a certain professor of mathematics, James Moriarty. Moriarty obviously recognised Moran's potential and recruited him into his criminal organisation.
Moriarty's assessment of Moran was sound. By the late 1880s Moran was the Professor's chief of staff and was being paid the incredible sum of £6000 a year. However, Holmes says that Moran was Moriarty's chief of staff '... for a time ...'. This suggests that he did not remain so, despite continuing to work for the Professor. Probably he found the administration and planning side of the Moriarty organisation to be less of a challenge than the actual practical side; Moran was not suited to a desk-job, he was a man of action. Holmes states that 'Moriarty kept him liberally supplied with money, and used him only in one or two very high-class jobs which no ordinary criminal could have undertaken.' His shooting skill and love of the hunt would make him an effective and high quality assassin. Moran probably aided his employer in one further way. After Moriarty resigned his university chair, it was no doubt Moran's military connections that enabled him to set up as an army coach.
Indications of the Colonel's activities can be seen in the Canon, and beyond. There is good reason to suppose that Captain Calhoun and the KKK made use of the Moriarty organisation in their pursuit of the Openshaw family; the manner of the deaths seem to suggest a local knowledge that would be lacking in the crew of an American barque. The killing of John Openshaw especially has all of the hallmarks of a professional 'hit'. Moran was almost certainly behind the death of Mrs Stewart of Lauder in 1887 as well. Beyond the Canon there is Moran's role in the vanishing train mystery of June 1890, an account of which was written by Doyle under the title of 'The Lost Special'. Although it is debatable whether the ' ...amateur reasoner of some celebrity... ' mentioned in this case is Holmes, there can be no doubt that Herbert de Lernac was aided by Moriarty, and that Mr Horace Moore ' ...a gentlemanly man of military appearance...' and de Lernac's ally, was Colonel Moran. Finally, it was almost certainly Moran who was stalking Holmes with an air-gun during the detective's final duel with Moriarty.
Moran's job ceased to exist when the criminal empire of which he was part was destroyed by Holmes, and its emperor went over the Reichenbach Falls. Moran was present at his leader's death and made an unsuccessful attempt to avenge him. Much has been made of the fact that one of the finest shots in the world merely rolled rocks at Holmes rather than using his Von Herder air-gun. However, if the Swiss authorities had found Holmes dead from a bullet it would have meant a murder investigation; Holmes crushed by a rock would just be classed as an accident. Moran may have been ruthless but that doesn't mean he wasn't careful.
Although deprived of his living it is unlikely that Moran was left destitute. £6000 a year is a lot of money, more than he could have managed to spend without attracting suspicion, so it is probable that he had plenty of investments and savings to live on. Holmes' suggestion that in 1894 he was making his living by cheating at cards is just wrong. Exposure by Adair would have not meant a loss of livelihood but a loss of face, but in Moran's eyes that was sufficient cause for murder.
However cheating at cards was Moran's fatal flaw. He had come close to exposure long before the Adair incident; once again we turn to the case of the unfortunate John Openshaw. Holmes was recommended to him by Major Prendegast, whom Holmes had aided in the Tankerville Club scandal. Holmes had cleared the Major of cheating at cards, causing Openshaw to state 'He said you could solve anything.'. Holmes reply is curt: 'He said too much'. Could it be that Holmes was still smarting from his failure to expose the real cheat? Colonel Moran was also a member of the Tankerville Club. This explains Holmes' comment that Moran ' ... undoubtedly played foul - of that I have long been aware.'. In 1894 however he was caught cheating by The Honourable Ronald Adair at the Bagatelle Card Club, and threatened with exposure unless he resigned. His rash killing of young Adair was the catalyst that brought the well-travelled Holmes back to London. An attempt to eliminate the one man that could pin the murder on him led to his arrest in Camden House.
Moran escaped a capital sentence, we don't know how. Perhaps his finances allowed him to hire a good defence lawyer or perhaps the judge was unwilling to send the son of Sir Augustus Moran to the gallows. At any event, Moran was referred to as '...still living... ' in 1902 (ILLU) and Holmes implies that he is still alive in 1914 (LAST). It seems strange that a man like Moran would still be alive in prison after 20 years, but in prison he must have been. It is inconceivable that a Moran at liberty would have wasted any time in avenging himself on Holmes by adding the detective to his bag. It is a sad end to the Colonel's career: to be caged for the rest of his life must have been the worst indignity of all for the greatest of the shikaris.