RAMSAY, Robert
| Service Numbers: | 966, 1873, N74218 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 11 March 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Major |
| Last Unit: | 3 Recruit Reception Battalion |
| Born: | Germanton, New South Wales, Australia (Now Holbrook), 6 September 1888 |
| Home Town: | Double Bay, Woollahra, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Commercial Traveller |
| Died: | New South Wales, Australia, 23 May 1965, aged 76 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park, NSW Eastern Drive Walls, Wall G, Position 128 |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Aug 1914: | Involvement Private, 966, 1st Infantry Battalion, Naval and Military Forces - Special Tropical Corps, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Berrima embarkation_ship_number: A35 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Aug 1914: | Embarked Private, 966, 1st Infantry Battalion, Naval and Military Forces - Special Tropical Corps, HMAT Berrima, Melbourne | |
| 23 Sep 1914: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 1st Infantry Battalion, Naval and Military Forces - Special Tropical Corps | |
| 5 Mar 1915: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 966, 1st Infantry Battalion, Naval and Military Forces - Special Tropical Corps | |
| 11 Mar 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1873, 1st Infantry Battalion | |
| 10 Apr 1915: | Involvement Private, 1873, 1st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Argyllshire embarkation_ship_number: A8 public_note: '' | |
| 10 Apr 1915: | Embarked Private, 1873, 1st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Argyllshire, Sydney | |
| 7 Aug 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 1st Infantry Battalion | |
| 8 Sep 1915: | Transferred AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 6th Infantry Brigade Headquarters | |
| 16 Sep 1915: | Honoured Military Cross, "This officer drove a Turkish Bombing party opposite Lone Pine down a line of enemy's trench with bombs and forced them to bunch in a corner. He then threw in more bombs which caused the Turks to break cover, when several were accounted for by rifle fire." | |
| 13 Feb 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 53rd Infantry Battalion | |
| 12 Mar 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant | |
| 11 May 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Captain, 14th Infantry Brigade Headquarters, Whilst 14th Brigade Grenadier Officer | |
| 26 Sep 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Captain, 53rd Infantry Battalion, Polygon Wood, G.S.W Left Leg; Fractured Tibia | |
| 4 Feb 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Captain, 53rd Infantry Battalion, Appointment Terminated - 2nd Military District |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Jun 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Major, N74218 | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Oct 1944: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Major, N74218, 3 Recruit Reception Battalion |
Help us honour Robert Ramsay's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by VWM Australia
Birth Registration Details from Ancestry
Name Robert Ramsay
Birth Date 1888
Birth Place New South Wales
Registration Year 1888
Registration Place Hume Albury, New South Wales, Australia
Father Alexander B Ramsay
Mother Jessie Ramsay
Registration Number 14178
Biography contributed by Zidane McNamara
Served in the AN&MEF, then the 1st Battalion on Gallipoli where he was commissioned and awarded a Military Cross and a Mention in Despatches. He served with the 53rd Battalion in France commanding 'D' Company, 53rd Battalion. He was quoted by his Colonel 'Ramsay is a devil, but if hell were peopled with devils of his ilk, I should ask for bi-annual leave there from the other place'. Captain Ramsay was invalided to Australia after being wounded in the leg at Polygon Wood. 'D' Company would then be commanded by Captain William Frederic Lindsay, later Military Cross.
He later served with the 22nd Garrison Battalion in the Second World War, where he was in charge of the compound where hundreds of Japanese Prisoners escaped from in August 1944.
In 1985, the Cowra Breakout miniseries contained the character of 'Major Horden' who is the Compound Commander, as Major Ramsay was. They both bear the Military Cross and First World War Trio, however Horden bears the patch of the 26th Battalion instead of the 53rd Battalion and is missing the Mention in Desptaches Ramsay won in 1915