Private David Alexander Ross
Survivor of WW2
Date of Death:
Service Biography
David Alexander Ross was born in Brooklyn, New York, on 12 July 1898, the son of John Alexander Ross of Huntingdon, Quebec. A blacksmith, he was drafted under the Military Service Act and enlisted at Montreal on 27 April 1918 as Private 3085044. He served in Canada with several units, including the 79th Battery, 2nd Tank Battalion and the Remount Depot of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (Siberia). From 9 to 14 October 1918 he was hospitalized at the Base Hospital in Toronto with influenza. Ross was discharged at Montreal on demobilization on 24 April 1919.
Conflict:
WW2
Regimental No.:
D-122606
Cause of Death (in war):
Survived
Branch:
Army
Regiment:
Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps
Battalion:
4th Canadian Divisional Ordnance Workshop
Company:
Date of Birth :
Place of Birth:
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Date of Enlistment:
Age at Enlistment:
45 years 9 months
Date of Discharge:
Age at Discharge:
46 years 4 months
Date of Death:
Age at Death:
88 years 8 months
Country Born:
Canada
Trade or Calling:
Blacksmith
Next of Kin:
John Alexander Ross (father), 133 Chateauguay Street, Huntingdon, Quebec
Address at Enlistment:
Huntingdon, Quebec
Religion:
Presbyterian
Place of Enlistment:
Westmount, Quebec
Was a Prisoner of War:
No
Height:
5 ft 2.5 in / 159 cm
Weight:
147 lbs / 67 kg
Chest:
Expansion:
Marital Status:
Single
Prior Military Experience:
Yes
Saw Service in:
Canada
Place of Discharge:
Westmount, Quebec
Discharge Type:
Medically Unfit
Discharge Notes:
Medically discharged as unable to meet required military physical standards. Medical Board diagnosed arthritis deformans and hammer toes, found the arthritic condition progressive, and recommended Category E/discharge.
Battle Died/Wounded:
Length of Service:
197 days in service
Buried at:
Links
Ranks
| Conflict |
Rank |
Regiment |
Branch |
Unit |
Company |
Date From |
Date To |
| WW2 |
Private |
Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps |
Army |
4th Canadian Divisional Ordnance Workshop |
|
|
|
| WW1 |
Private |
Remount Service |
Canadian Expeditionary Force |
Remount Depot, C.E.F. (Siberia) |
|
|
|
| WW1 |
Private |
Canadian Machine Gun Corps |
Canadian Expeditionary Force |
2nd Tank Battalion |
|
|
|
| WW1 |
Private |
Canadian Field Artillery |
Canadian Expeditionary Force |
79th Battery |
|
|
|
| WW1 |
Private |
1st Quebec Regiment |
Canadian Expeditionary Force |
1st Depot Battalion |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Private |
Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps |
Army |
No. 4 Army Field Workshop |
|
|
|
Awards
| Conflict |
Award |
Action |
Date of Award |
Date of Citation |
Source |
| WW2 |
War Service Badge, Service Class |
Issued |
|
|
Department of National Defence |
Service Chronology
1895-07-12 — Born, Brooklyn, New York
1918-04 to 1919-04 — Prior Canadian Expeditionary Force service
1941-05-02 — Enlisted in Canadian Active Service Force as Private D-122606, Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps
1941 — Transferred from No. 4 Army Field Workshop to 2nd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Workshop Section
1941-10-02 — Morning Sick Report records scabies
1941 — Transferred to 4th Canadian Divisional Ordnance Workshop
1941-10 — Received dental treatment including extractions and denture/impression work
1941-10-24 — Medical Board examined Ross for chronic back and shoulder complaints; arthritis deformans and hammer toes documented
1941-11-08 — Medical Board discharge recommendation approved
1941-11-15 — Medically discharged as unable to meet required military physical standards
1942-05-09 — War Service Badge, Service Class, no. 009656 issued
1949-11-30 — Canadian Volunteer Service Medal application denied because active service did not total 18 months
1984-04-08 — Died at Ste. Anne's Military Hospital, aged 88, Montreal, Quebec
1984-04-11 — Funeral service and interment, Huntingdon, Quebec
1918-04-27 — Enlisted/drafted under the Military Service Act; joined the 1st Depot Battalion, 1st Quebec Regiment.
1918-05-03 — Transferred to 79th Battery.
1918-09-20 — Transferred to 2nd Tank Battalion, effective this date.
1918-09-24 — Taken on strength of Remount Depot, C.E.F. (Siberia), on transfer.
1918-10-09 — Admitted with influenza.
1918-10-14 — Discharged from hospital following influenza treatment.
1919-03-06 — Struck off strength of C.E.F. (Siberia) on transfer to District Depot No. 4 for discharge on demobilization.
1919-04-06 — Transferred to Military District No. 4 for demobilization processing.
1919-04-24 — Discharged on demobilization.
Notes
Born in Brooklyn, New York. He left school at age 15 after seven years of public schooling and had apprenticed as a blacksmith. At enlistment he was working as a blacksmith for his father, J. Alexander Ross, at the family blacksmith shop in Huntingdon and reported 30 years' experience. He spoke and read English and intended to return to his former employment after discharge. His medical description recorded fair complexion, grey hair, hazel eyes, a vaccination mark on the right arm, a scar on the right middle finger, hammer toes, height 5 ft 2½ in and weight 147 lb. His medical history recorded back pain dating from an incident about ten years earlier when a horse pulled away while he was shoeing it, and pain between the shoulders for about five years. The October 1941 spinal X-ray described moderate hypertrophic arthritic lipping in the lower dorsal spine, with no abnormality of the sacroiliac joints. The WW1 service record used in the earlier CWVMP analysis recorded his birth year as 1898, but the WW2 file repeatedly records 1895; the 1984 obituary's age of 88 corroborates the 1895 year.
Additional Service Notes
Enlisted in the Canadian Active Service Force at Westmount, Quebec, on 2 May 1941 as Private D-122606 in the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps. He initially served with No. 4 Army Field Workshop; the Service and Casualty Form later records 2nd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Workshop Section and 4th Canadian Divisional Workshop Section, and his discharge documents identify 4th Canadian Divisional Ordnance Workshop. The surviving forms do not state the exact transfer dates between these workshop units. His WW2 service was in Canada only and totalled 198 days. On 2 October 1941 he appeared on a Morning Sick Report with scabies; the form does not establish hospital admission. A Medical Board in October 1941 documented arthritis deformans, hammer toes, chronic back pain and pain between the shoulders. X-ray showed moderate hypertrophic arthritic lipping of the lower dorsal spine. The Board regarded the arthritic condition as progressive and recommended discharge. He was medically discharged at Westmount on 15 November 1941 as unable to meet required military physical standards. He later received War Service Badge, Service Class, No. 009656; a 1949 application for the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal was denied because his Canadian Army (Active) service did not total the required 18 months.
Additional Next of Kin Notes
At enlistment he was single with no children. His father, John Alexander Ross, a blacksmith at 133 Chateauguay Street, Huntingdon, was alive; his mother was deceased. Ross contributed $10 per month to his widowed sister, Mrs. Elizabeth McCracken of Box 163, Huntingdon. His will left his estate to his father. The supplied 1984 obituary identifies him as the husband of the late Phoebe Getty and names surviving sister Mrs. Alex Hay, brother Finlayson Ross, and sister-in-law Mrs. Mamie Seaman.
Version: 6 Last modified: 2026-09-13 02:05:03
by: marc
