John Campbell Ross (11 March 1899 – 3 June 2009), at the time of his death, was Australia's oldest living person and the last surviving Australian enlisted soldier from the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

period. As a civilian, Ross worked for

Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...

until he retired in 1964.

Early life and family

Born in

Maryborough, Victoria Maryborough () is a town in Victoria, Australia, on the Pyrenees Highway, north of Ballarat and northwest of Melbourne, in the Shire of Central Goldfields. At the 2016 census, it had a population of 7,921. History The area was originally ...

, Ross served as a

wireless operator A radio operator (also, formerly, wireless operator in British and Commonwealth English) is a person who is responsible for the operations of a radio system. The profession of radio operator has become largely obsolete with the automation of ra ...

in the Australian Imperial Force, enlisting in January 1918, but never left Australia or saw active service. He later went on to serve in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as a corporal with the 20th Battalion, Volunteer Defence Corps. His wife, Irene (née Laird), predeceased him by several decades. He was survived by a son, Robert (dec.) a daughter, Peggy Ashburn, four grandchildren - Jeanette, Heather, Kay, and John – and nine great-grandchildren.

Honours

On 11 November 1998, Ross had been awarded the 80th Anniversary Armistice Medal to mark the end of World War I. He had also been awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

for contributing to Australian society in the 100 years since federation. The death of William Evan Allan in October 2005 left Ross as the last Australian digger from the World War I period. However, the English-born

Claude Choules Claude Stanley Choules (; 3 March 1901 – 5 May 2011) was an English-born military serviceman from Pershore, Worcestershire, who at the time of his death was the oldest combat veteran of the First World War from England, having served wit ...

, a World War I veteran who served for Britain, lived in Western Australia. Ross became Australia's oldest man, at the age of 108, on 12 June 2007 upon the death of

Frank Scarrabelotti Frank Scarrabelotti (4 August 1897 – 12 June 2007) was Australia's oldest man at the time of his death, aged . Australia's oldest person at the time of his death was Myra Nicholson, who died later in 2007 aged 112. Scarrabelotti was the son of ...

. Following the death of 112-year-old E. Beatrice Riley, he was verified as the oldest living person in Australia. For his 110th birthday he received a commemorative letter from the

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...

Death

Ross died in his sleep at approximately 4:00 a.m. at the Golden Oaks Nursing Home in

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

on 3 June 2009, aged 110 years and 84 days.

References

External links

Attestation Papers – John Campbell RossWorld War II Nominal Roll – Ross, John Campbell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, John Campbell 1899 births 2009 deaths Australian supercentenarians Men supercentenarians Australian military personnel of World War I Volunteer Defence Corps soldiers People from Geelong Australian Army soldiers Military personnel from Victoria (Australia)

Early life and family

Honours

Death

See also

References

External links