David Gifford CROLL CBE, MiD

CROLL, David Gifford

Service Number: Q62601
Enlisted: 29 October 1914, Brisbane, Queensland
Last Rank: Colonel
Last Unit: General Hospitals - WW2
Born: Glasgow, Scotland, 14 November 1885
Home Town: Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland
Schooling: University of Sydney
Occupation: Medical Practitioner
Died: Natural causes, Sherwood, Queensland, 4 May 1948, aged 62 years
Cemetery: Mount Thompson Memorial Gardens & Crematorium, Queensland
Memorials: Brisbane St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church Great War Honour Roll (2), Corinda Sherwood Shire Roll of Honor, The Croll Memorial Precinct, Corinda, Qld
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World War 1 Service

29 Oct 1914: Enlisted AIF WW1, Major, Brisbane, Queensland
16 Dec 1914: Embarked AIF WW1, Major, 2nd Light Horse Brigade Field Ambulance, HMAT Borda, Brisbane
16 Dec 1914: Involvement AIF WW1, Major, 2nd Light Horse Brigade Field Ambulance, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '22' embarkation_place: '' embarkation_ship: '' embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: ''
7 Aug 1915: Involvement AIF WW1, Major, 2nd Light Horse Brigade Field Ambulance, ANZAC / Gallipoli
1 Jan 1916: Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant Colonel, 2nd Light Horse Brigade Field Ambulance
26 Apr 1918: Promoted AIF WW1, Colonel, 2nd Light Horse Brigade Field Ambulance

World War 2 Service

10 Mar 1941: Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Colonel, Q62601
10 Mar 1941: Enlisted Colonel, Q62601, Brisbane, Queensland
11 Mar 1941: Involvement Colonel, Q62601
22 Jul 1944: Discharged Colonel, Q62601, General Hospitals - WW2

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Biography contributed by John Edwards

"...Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1885, Gifford emigrated to New Zealand with his parents, before coming to Australia aged 13. He completed his medical training at the University of Sydney, and while studying, spent five years as part of the Sydney University Scouts (SUS), attaining the rank of Warrant Officer.  Back in Queensland, Gifford married a local Queensland nurse – Miss Marian Winifred (Winnie) Payne on 13 April 1912 at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Brisbane. Both were employed at the Brisbane Hospital.

When war was declared in 1914, Gifford, wife Winnie and brother John all enlisted within weeks of each other. Gifford enlisted on 19 October, and was recommended for appointment as a Major with the 2nd Light Horse Field Ambulance, having spent almost four years since qualification as a medical practitioner with the Australian Army Medical Corps. John also joined the 2LHFA, and Winnie served with the 1st Australian General Hospital, and departed for Egypt on board HMAT A55 Kyarra on 21 December 1914. Major Croll embarked from Pinkenba Wharf, Brisbane, on board HMAT A30 Borda on 15 December 1914 as Second in Command of the 2nd Light Horse Field Ambulance. Once in Egypt, he and his medical staff quickly came to grips with the desert conditions, but found themselves deployed to the Gallipoli Peninsula in May, and witnesses to the failed August Offensive and the bloody end of the campaign..." - READ MORE LINK (blogs.slq.qld.gov.au)

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