DOUST, Ronald Shaw
| Service Number: | F3219 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 October 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Seaman |
| Last Unit: | HMAS Leeuwin |
| Born: | Midland Junction, Western Australia, 1 September 1922 |
| Home Town: | Picton Junction, Bunbury, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Bunbury High School, Western Australia |
| Occupation: | Clerk - Union Bank |
| Died: | Drowned when yacht capsized off Fremantle, Fremantle, Western Australia, 8 December 1940, aged 18 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Bunbury War Memorial, Melbourne Union Bank of Australia Limited 'In Memoriam' WW2 Honour Roll, Plymouth Naval Memorial to the Missing / Lost at Sea |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement F3219 | |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Oct 1940: | Enlisted Royal Australian Navy, Seaman, F3219, HMAS Leeuwin | |
| Date unknown: | Discharged Royal Australian Navy, Seaman, F3219 |
Help us honour Ronald Shaw Doust's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of Matthew Alfred and Margaret Rose Doust, of Mt. Magnet, Western Australia
DECEASED YOUTH'S FINE QUALITIES:
The death of Ronald Shan Doust, as a result of the recent yachting tragedy, which came as a blow to his many friends in Bunbury where he was particularly well known, (having lived here all his life), has been followed by many tributes to the deceased.
At the age of 18 a promising life has been prematurely cut off and the sympathy of all his friends in Bunbury goes out to his parents in their bereavement.
The deceased youth's father has been headmaster of the Picton School for some time and in that capacity has naturally become very well known, and respected and has made a wide circle of friends who feel with him keenly in his loss.
The late Shan Doust, as he was popularly known to his wide circle of friends, was one of the most popular youths in the town.
He was a very keen sportsman, and had gained distinctive honours in tennis circles, having the won the honour of being runner-up in the South-West junior tennis championships last season.
As a footballer he displayed ability of no mean dimensions and he was a prominent figure in the Bunbury High School's eighteen during his last years at school.
There, too, he was among the leading. lights in the tennis reprentatives, before joining the Bunbury Tennis Club.
At the time of his accident the deceased was a writer in the Royal Australian Navy, in which he enlisted only a few weeks ago. Before his enlistment he had been employed at the Union Bank for about 2 1/2 years. At school he was a particularly promising student and his final achievement was the passing of the Junior University Examination in 1936 in nine subjects. Tributes to the popularity of the deceased youth have come from many sources and there was no mistaking the sincerity of the many expressions of regret and sorrow when the news of the tragedy became, known. He was particularly well known in swimming circles and had the reputation of beirig a strong swimmer and quite at home among the breakers but a four mile swim to shore is a task which many older men would fail to accomplish, although it seems that the determination which marked his whole career was evidenced in his final fight for life.
His memory will be preserved with affection by" his many friends in Bunbury who feel* that they have lost a companion and a future citizen, of character and ability whose loss the community can ill—
afford and whose untimely death is deplored by all.