Temporary Surgeon James Ness MacBean Ross, (15 November 1889 – 3 April 1964) was a British

medical doctor A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

who was deployed with the

Royal Naval Division The 63rd (Royal Naval) Division was a United Kingdom infantry division of the First World War. It was originally formed as the Royal Naval Division at the outbreak of the war, from Royal Navy and Royal Marine reservists and volunteers, who wer ...

during the

First World War 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 ...

. He was awarded his first

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

in 1917 and a

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1918, he was also awarded the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

with palms and was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

three times.

Early life and education

James Ness MacBean Ross was born in London on 15 November 1889 to Elizabeth Ness, of

Tain Tain ( Gaelic: ''Baile Dhubhthaich'') is a royal burgh and parish in the County of Ross, in the Highlands of Scotland. Etymology The name derives from the nearby River Tain, the name of which comes from an Indo-European root meaning 'flow'. The ...

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; gd, Siorrachd Rois) is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting of ...

, and her husband, Donald Alexander MacBean Ross, manager of the London branch of the

Commercial Bank of Scotland The Commercial Bank of Scotland Ltd. was a Scottish commercial bank. It was founded in Edinburgh in 1810, and obtained a royal charter in 1831. It grew substantially through the 19th and early 20th centuries, until 1958, when it merged with th ...

.Biographical Note. Dr James Ness MacBean Ross.

Tain & District Museum The Tain & District Museum is located in Tain, Ross-shire, Scotland. It is volunteer-run and is open April to October part of the Tain Through Time visitor centre. The museum was established in 1966 and has a collection of silver made in the loc ...

. Accessed 10 June 2018 His father died at an early age and the family returned to

. Ross was educated at

Tain Royal Academy Tain Royal Academy is a secondary school in Highland, Scotland. The school first opened in 1813, with a new building opened in 1969 and an educational campus currently being built, due to open in 2018. Tain Royal Academy is part of the Golspie, ...

and

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in 1983. In ...

before entering the

University of Edinburgh Medical School The University of Edinburgh Medical School (also known as Edinburgh Medical School) is the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the United Kingdom and part of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. It was esta ...

in 1907. He graduated with an

MB ChB Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

in 1911. After graduation he undertook hospital appointments in

Edinburgh Royal Infirmary The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, or RIE, often (but incorrectly) known as the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest v ...

and other Scottish hospitals before moving to England to become house-physician to the

Brompton Hospital Royal Brompton Hospital is the largest specialist heart and lung medical centre in the United Kingdom. It is managed by Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. History Consumption in the 19th Century In the 19th century, consumption was a co ...

and the Victoria Hospital for Children. He gained his MD in 1914.

Military career and decorations

MacBean Ross joined the medical branch of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

on 3 August 1914, the last day of peace before Britain entered the

. He served at sea in HMS ''Mars'' until he was transferred to 1st Battalion,

Royal Marines Light Infantry The history of the Royal Marines began on 28 October 1664 with the formation of the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot soon becoming known as the Admiral's Regiment. During the War of the Spanish Succession the most historic achi ...

Cape Helles Cape Helles is the rocky headland at the southwesternmost tip of the Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey. It was the scene of heavy fighting between Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Turkish and United Kingdom, British troops during the landing at Cape Helles at th ...

on 15 September 1915. He was at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

at both the landing and evacuation and then at

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

. On 9 October 1915 he was appointed as battalion medical officer to the 2nd Battalion,

in France. From 1916 to 1918 he served in France and Flanders and was involved in the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

Ancre The Ancre (; ) is a river of Picardy, France. Rising at Miraumont, a hamlet near the town of Albert, Somme, Albert, it flows into the Somme (river), Somme at Corbie. It is long. For most of its length it flows through the departments of France, ...

and Passchendaele battles. He was first wounded, but remained on duty, on 13 November 1916 but he was invalided back to Britain on 19 March 1917 with

trench fever Trench fever (also known as "five-day fever", "quintan fever" ( la, febris quintana), and "urban trench fever") is a moderately serious disease transmitted by body lice. It infected armies in Flanders, France, Poland, Galicia, Italy, Salonika, Ma ...

. He was

on 9 April 1917 and rejoined the 2nd Battalion on 17 Apr 1917. His first

was awarded for actions at Gavrelle on 28 April 1917; the citation, published in the

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 17 July 1917, read:A

was awarded to his Military Cross the following year; this was originally gazetted on 15 January 1918 but with the citation being published on 23 April 1918: It is interesting that on each occasion that he was gazetted, his name is misspelt as McBean. In addition to his MC and Bar, he was awarded the

with palms and was

three times. In total he was gassed and wounded three times, the last time being on 26 October 1917 when he was shot through the left thigh, severing his femoral artery, while attending wounded marines in an exposed position near Passchendaele, resulting in the Bar to his MC. These wounds affected him for the rest of his life. He took the

FRCSEd The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The College has seven active faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical practices. Its main campus is located o ...

in 1918 and was finally discharged from hospital and invalided from service on 7 May 1919. His war time experiences are recorded in a set of 1918 memoirs, ''On Four Fronts with the Royal Naval Division,'' that he co-authored with another doctor, Surgeon Geoffrey Sparrow MC.

Post-war life

In 1920 MacBean Ross settled in

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, and became senior GP partner in his surgery. He was a keen member of the Sutton and District Medical Society and was President from 1930–31. He joined the staff of the old Sutton Cottage Hospital before acting as secretary in its rebuilding as the Sutton and Cheam General Hospital. He was also surgeon to the Sutton Division of the Metropolitan Police and visiting medical officer at

Epsom College Epsom College is a co-educational independent school on Epsom Downs, Surrey, England, for pupils aged 11 to 18. It was founded in 1853 as a boys' school to provide support for poor members of the medical profession such as pensioners and orpha ...

. He was an honorary life member of the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...

Society as well as being vice president of the Sutton and Cheam Division from 1936–53; he was awarded the Voluntary Medical Services Medal with three Bars. He retired from practice in 1953 and moved to Mickleham. In the last two years of life he endured deteriorating health and died on 3 April 1964. He is buried at Mickleham Church. He bequeathed £300 to the Sutton and District Medical Society. This was used by the committee to institute an annual 'MacBean Ross Lecture'.

Personal life

MacBean Ross had two sisters, Elizabeth and Lucy, both of whom became doctors. At the beginning of

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 ...

, Dr Elizabeth Ness MacBean Ross, at the invitation of the Serbian government, volunteered to serve in Serbia. She died of

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

fever on her 37th birthday, 14 February 1915. He also had a cousin in the Gordon Highlanders, James Sharp Ness, who was killed in 1917. In 1921 he married Gwendolyn Agnes Cooper and had two sons, Donald, who died young, and David. The marriage was dissolved in 1945 and he later married Betty Adine Hoare, who survived him, dying in 1990.

Honours and awards

References

External links

Picture of James Ness MacBean Ross – Imperial War Museums – Lives of the First World War
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, James Ness MacBean 1889 births 1964 deaths Military personnel from London People educated at Tain Royal Academy People educated at Fettes College Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Medical School Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy Medical Service officers Recipients of the Military Cross Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh 20th-century British medical doctors Royal Marines officers Royal Marines personnel of World War I Anglo-Scots People from Ross and Cromarty 20th-century surgeons