Moule was born in China, in Hangchow (now Hangzhou) near Shanghai, where his father, Rev. H.W. Moule, and mother were missionaries.
This was done to ingratiate the Italians to the ruling class parents of the flying cadets, and to undercut the popularity of a previously established flying school at Hangchow, which was staffed and run by Americans to stricter United States Army Air Corps standards.