Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Ross was born to James John Bushell and Emma Bridget Bushell (nee O’Reilly) in Glenelg, South Australia on the 15 August 1920. His father, James was born on August the 7th 1866, and died on the 10 April 1987.  Ross’s mother was born on 14th October 1864, in Robe, and died 14 March 1930. 

Ross first enlisted when he was 19 years old on the 27 May 1940.  He served as a Driver, SN S213392, in the 4th Military District but was discharged in December 1940. His service record does not provide the details of why. He enlisted again when was 20 on the 30 Nov 1940 in Wayville, South Australia. He was given the rank of Private, SN SX10450. His next of kin for both enlistments was his sister but her name was spelt incorrectly on his 2nd Attestation Paper as ‘Cruikshank’.  Ross’s sister, Margaret Edith Bushell, who was born in 1906, married Joseph Graham Crookshank on the 4 August 1931.  She didn’t have any living children when she passed away in 1983, aged 77.  However, she did have a daughter, Margaret Rose Crookshank who died in 1934.   (Margaret Crookshank (Bushell), 2023)

On the 30 Jul 1941 he joined the 8th Division Salvage Unit, HMT EE (Marnix van St. Aldegonde). The purpose of the unit was to scavenge the battlefield for equipment, arms and ammunition after the fighting in the area had moved away. They would then be responsible for the repairs and redistribution of the equipment, arms and ammunition they had 'salvaged' from the battlefield to other fighting units in the 8th Division.

In late July 1941 this unit went to join the rest of the 8th Division in Malaya and Singapore. Here, they were originally utilised as skilled labouring troops before finally using their specific skills of salvaging and requisitioning military equipment, arms and ammunition which is when the Japanese attacked Northern Malaya and made their way down the peninsula.

The salvage unit, like most of the 8th Division, eventually surrendered to Japanese Forces on the island of Singapore on 15 February 1942. These men became and remained Prisoners of War at the mercy of the Japanese. When the war finally ended, over three years later, of the 43 men that had embarked only 22 returned in late 1945.

Ross was reported as missing on the 10th of April 1942 in Malaya, and unfortunately was amongst the men who were taken as a prisoner of war. 

“He was one of over 2000 Allied prisoners of war (POW) held in the Sandakan POW camp in north Borneo, having been transferred there from Singapore as a part of E Force. The 500 Australian and 500 British POW's who made up E Force, left Changi on 28 March 1943, on board the S.S. DeKlerk arriving at Berhala Island (adjacent to Sandakan Harbour) on 15 April 1943. The POWs were held there until 5 June, when they were taken by barge to Sandakan. The next day they were transferred to the 8 Mile Camp, which was about half a mile from the B Force compound.”  (ROSS FERGUSON BUSHELL, 2023)

Ross then died of Illness as a POW of Japan, in Sandakan -Ranau 2nd "Death March", in Borneo on the 7th of June 1945, aged only 24 years.

He was buried in Plot panel 31. Memorial ID – 20344713 in Federal Territory of Labuan, Malaysia.