ROSS, Alexander
| Service Number: | 2653 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 July 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 36th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Sydney New South Wales, Australia, 5 June 1880 |
| Home Town: | Wickham, Newcastle, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Cooks Hill Superior Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Wharf labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 7 June 1917, aged 37 years |
| Cemetery: |
Toronto Avenue Cemetery, Ploegsteert Wood Belgium Row B, Grave No.9 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Wickham "Citizens of Wickham" Volunteers Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Jul 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2653, 36th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 2653, 36th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Benalla embarkation_ship_number: A24 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 2653, 36th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Benalla, Sydney |
Help us honour Alexander Ross's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Gary Mitchell, Sandgate Cemetery
Let us remember a Fallen soldier of The Great War awaiting memorialisation at Sandgate Cemetery.
On the 7th June 1917, Private Alexander Thomas Nicholson Ross, referred to as Acky, 36th Battalion (Reg No-2653), wharf labourer from 7 Wickham Street, Wickham, New South Wales, father of eight (5 daughters and 3 sons), was Killed in Action during the Battle of Messines, age 37. Cause of death unknown.
No Australian Red Cross Wounded and Missing File.
Born at Glebe, Newcastle, New South Wales on the 5th June 1880 to Alexander (died 26.4.1907, Kurri Kurri, N.S.W., age 66), and Elizabeth Ross nee Bell (died 23.6.1904, age 60, mother of 4 sons & 2 daughters), from Rose Street, Merewether, N.S.W.; husband of Rebecca Ross nee Wilson (married 9.9.1901, Newcastle, N.S.W., re-married to Charles Edwin Thompson Crane, 1920, Wickham, N.S.W., died 22.9.1968, Bolton Point or Ryde, N.S.W., age 73), Acky enlisted on the 28th July 1916 at Broadmeadow, N.S.W.
Unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales on board HMAT A24 Benalla on the 9th November 1916.
Admitted to hospital 13.3.1917 (not stated).
Mr. Ross is resting at Toronto Avenue Cemetery, Belgium. Row B Grave 9.
Place of Association – Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
Acky’s name has been inscribed on the Cooks Hill Superior Public School Roll of Honour, Book of Gold, Wickham (Hawkins Oval) Soldiers' Memorial, Wickham Municipal District Roll of Honour Board (1) and the Newcastle Wharf Labourers Union Roll of Honour.
Unfortunately, there is no memorial inscription at the Ross gravesite to tell us of the loss of their son during The Great War, so July 2017 I erected a Memorial cross adorned with poppies in remembrance of Acky’s service and supreme sacrifice for God, King & Country. METHODIST 2 (PRIMITIVE) 24 NE. 44.
A Memorial Plaque placed on The Capt. Clarence Smith Jeffries (V.C.) and Pte. William Matthew Currey (V.C.) Memorial Wall, 2017.
Many thanks to Alexander's Great Niece Roslyn Van Der Velde for the notification, photo and information.
At the time of his death his wife Rebecca was caring for 5 daughters and 3 sons at home in Wickham.
Rebecca remarried Charles Edward Thompson Crane on the 10th July 1920 at St. James Church, Wickham, and had three more sons.
Rebecca died on the 2nd January 1944 and was cremated at Beresfield Crematorium on the 4th January 1944.
Judi Crane, 30.12.2024.
My Grandmother was Rebecca (nee Wilson) Ross. Her then husband, Alex Ross, was killed in 1917, leaving her a widow with 8 children.
She later married another returned soldier - Charles Edwin Crane, many years her junior, and had 3 more sons. Their eldest son, Mervyn Charles, was my father. All the records that I have of both families, have them living at 7-9 Wickham Street, Wickham until all 11 kids married and moved away. Rebecca died there, in, I think 1944. I have no idea what happened to the residence after that.
Contact with descendants would be greatly appreciated.
For more detail, see “Forever Remembered“.
http://www.commemoratingwarheroes.com/cemetery-main-search/.
Lest We Forget.
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