ROSS, William Alexander
| Service Number: | 4129 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 June 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 31st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Galashiels, Roxburg, Scotland , 15 June 1881 |
| Home Town: | Torquay, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Storekeeper |
| Died: | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 7 August 1947, aged 66 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane, Qld |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Jun 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4129, 31st Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Oct 1916: | Involvement Private, 4129, 31st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Boonah embarkation_ship_number: A36 public_note: '' | |
| 21 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 4129, 31st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Boonah, Brisbane | |
| 26 Sep 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 4129, 31st Infantry Battalion, Polygon Wood, SW right knee and wrist | |
| 28 Jun 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 4129, 31st Infantry Battalion, 1st MD due to wound to knee, Polygon Wood. |
Help us honour William 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 Australian Remembrance Army
William Alexander ROSS
Service No: 4129
Rank: Private
Unit: 31st Infantry Battalion
Last Saturday, our group of volunteers restored the lettering to the granite civilian headstone of William Alexander Ross, and his wife, Margaret. This was the second of two headstones that we restored on Saturday morning, the other headstone being that of Edward Spencer Tilston. Permission was given by Brisbane City Council for us to undertake these works.
William Alexander ROSS was born on the 15th June 1881 in Galashiels, Roxburg, Scotland to parents Jane Hunter and William Ross. William’s mother died after giving birth to his sister, Jane Hunter Ross. William’s father emmigrated to Queensland, Australia and married Amelia Wieland in 1898. He and Amelia had four children (three daughters and a son).
William Alexander Ross and his sister Jane left Scotland on board the “Duke of Norfolk”, and arrived in Brisbane, Queensland on the 15th August 1900. Fifteen years later, William wed Margaret Menzies Brown in Brisbane on the 19th October 1915.
On the 17th June 1916, less than a year after marrying Margaret, William enlisted with the AIF in Maryborough. He embarked from Brisbane per “Boonah” on the 21st October, disembarking in Plymouth, England on the 10th January 1917. On arrival, he joined the 8th Training Battalion in Folkestone.
William proceeded overseas to France, arriving in Etaples on the 25th April 1917, and was taken on strength in the 31st Infantry Battalion on the 17th May. Four months later, on the 26th September 1917, William was wounded in action, receiving a gun shot wound to his right knee (severe) and wrist. He was treated at the 17th Casualty Clearing Station, before being admitted to the 7th Canadian General Hospital, Etaples on the 1st October. William was transferred to England for treatment per HS “Princess Elizabeth”, and was admitted to the Bevan Military Hospital at Sandgate on the 19th October 1917.
William spent five months being treated in hospital, before being transferred to the 3rd Auxillary Hospital in Dartford on the 27th March 1918. He was returned to Australia on the 8th April 1918 per “Dunluce Castle”, and was discharged at the 1st Milirary District in Queensland on the 28th June 1918.
On return to Australia, William and Margaret in a house in Macrossan Avenue, Norman Park, Brisbane where William worked as a labourer, and later as a lift attendant. Margaret passed away on the 12th September 1936, and was buried at Lutwyche Cemetery. William was admitted to Genazzano Private Hospital, Wickham Terrace in Brisbane sometime between 1937 and 1943 where he remained until his death.
William died on the 7th August 1947 in Brisbane, at the age of 65 years. He was buried two days later, and was interred with his wife at Lutwyche Cemetery.
Lest We Forget
Click images to start slideshow.