[BITList] Fwd: Media release: VA046 THE LAST OF A GENERATION, PRIVATE JOHN ROSS - WE WILL REMEMBER HIM [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]

[John Feltham]

In the Australian Parliament House of Representatives (MPs) this  
afternoon, the House stood in silence in his memory.



Begin forwarded message:

From: DVA Mailing List <info at dvalists.aaa.net.au>
Date: 3 June 2009 4:18:18 PM
To: <minister-media at dva.aaa.net.au>
Subject: Media release: VA046 THE LAST OF A GENERATION, PRIVATE JOHN  
ROSS - WE WILL REMEMBER HIM [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Reply-To: dvamedia at dva.gov.au

Minister for Veterans' Affairs Mailing List

VA046 
                                                                                                                   Wednesday 
, 3 June 2009
THE LAST OF A GENERATION
Private John Ross – We will remember him

The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Alan Griffin, today expressed his  
sorrow at the passing of John ‘Jack’ Ross, the last remaining  
Australian to have served during the First World War.

Mr Ross passed away at 3.30 am this morning in Bendigo. Mr Ross is  
survived by his daughter Peggy and son Robert and four grandchildren.

“Mr Ross showed his willingness to serve Australia and her allies in  
what was an extremely tumultuous time in our history, and for that we  
are grateful,” Mr Griffin said.

“While he did not travel overseas, he completed his training, ready  
for deployment.”

Mr Ross was a clerk when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force  
in January 1918.  He trained at the Wireless Training School and was  
posted to the 1st (Depot) Battalion at Broadmeadows Camp in Victoria.   
At the time of his enlistment, he could not – of course – have known  
that the war would end in November.

With the end of the war and the demobilisation of the Australian  
Imperial Force, Private Ross was discharged on Christmas Eve, 1918.   
He served his country again in the Second World War as a member of the  
Volunteer Defence Corps.

In civilian life, Mr Ross worked for the Victorian Railways for more  
than 45 years and retired from the service in 1964.

On 9 July 1999, Mr Ross was presented with the 80th Anniversary  
Armistice Remembrance Medal, Australia’s first commemorative honour,  
marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the First World War.  Mr  
Ross was also awarded the Centenary Medal, in recognition of his  
contribution to Australian society.

Mr Griffin said with the passing of Jack Ross, the last of the 417,000  
Australians that served in the First World War was now gone.

“Although our living links to the First World War have been lost, we  
will continue to remember their heroic deeds and actions through the  
stories they have shared with us and through the legend that they  
created,” Mr Griffin said.

“It now falls to Australians everywhere to ensure that their memory is  
kept alive.  We must ensure that their contribution to Australia’s  
wartime history is passed on to future generations, so that their  
sacrifice is never forgotten.”

Please note: Mr Ross’ family ask media to respect their privacy and  
not to contact them today.

Media inquiries: Sasha Nimmo 0437 863 109
IMPORTANT
1. Before opening any attachments, please check for viruses.
2. This e-mail (including any attachments) may contain confidential  
information
for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
please contact the sender and delete all copies of this email.
3. Any views expressed in this e-mail are those of the sender and are  
not
a statement of Australian Government Policy unless otherwise stated.
4. Electronic addresses published in this email are not conspicuous  
publications
and DVA does not consent to the receipt of commercial electronic  
messages.
5. Please go to http://www.dva.gov.au/feedback.htm#sub to unsubscribe  
emails
of this type from DVA.
6. Finally, please do not remove this notice.

ooroo

Bad typists of the word, untie.




-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.bcn.mythic-beasts.com/pipermail/bitlist/attachments/20090603/67b89d3f/attachment-0001.shtml