German rail carriage notice : Gunner D B Ross, 13 Field Artillery Brigade, AIF

German train carriage sign with a gold painted background and printed black writing, listing the rules for passengers travellling in the train.

Sign taken from a wrecked train carriage near Harbonnieres by Gunner D B Ross in 1918. 30001 Gunner Dudley Bruce Ross was born on 21 May 1892 in North Adelaide, SA. Ross was brought up by his mother, as his father had died when Ross was only two. He attended Queens School in North Adelaide and then St Peters College, after which he progressed to university where he studied Law. Ross graduated in December 1914 and was admitted to the bar on 17 December. He enlisted for service in the First World War on 29 February 1916 in Adelaide. Initially he was posted to D Company, 2 Depot Battalion where he remained until 15 May. He transferred to the Field Artillery reinforcements and was sent to Maribyrnong in Victoria for training. He embarked with reinforcements for 120 Howitzer Battery from Melbourne on 2 October in the transport ship 'Aeneas', disembarking in Plymouth on 19 November.

Ross proceeded to France on 8 January 1917 arrived in Etaples on 9 January. He remained in Etaples until 8 March when he was transferred to 5 Division Artillery. He joined 13 Field Artillery Brigade on 11 March and was sent to 113 Howitzer Battery. Ross was sent to hospital on 27 April with influenza, and spent the next ten days recovering, rejoining his unit on 9 May. He moved with his unit from France into Belgium during July, going into positions in Ypres. Ross was sent to hospital ill on 17 August and was invalided to England. He was sent to Greylingwell War Hospital in Chichester to recover. Upon recovery, Ross was posted to 3 Command Depot as part of its permanent cadre staff on 1 January 1918. He stayed in this role until April when he requested and was granted a transfer back to 113 Howitzer Battery. He left England at the end of May and rejoined his unit in action near Vaire Wood. In June, he was transferred to 51 Battery which used 18 pounder guns.

During the advance on 8 August, Ross and his unit stopped on the outer edges of Harbonnieres near some German hospital trains and a railway gun. This sign was removed from a wrecked German railway carriage. After a brief bombardment by the Germans, his unit stopped for the night. On 31 October he was transferred again, this time to 50 Battery. 11 November found Ross and his unit marching back up to the line after a short rest. News that the war was over reached them mid morning and the column stopped to celebrate. After a two week leave in Paris in late February 1919 and an illicit side trip to Italy, Ross was sent to England where he was granted further leave with full pay from 22 April until 22 July to take part in a council of legal education. After completing his course, he returned to AIF headquarters and was promoted to temporary sergeant on 25 July.

Ross embarked for Australia on 28 August in the transport ship Kanowna. He was posted to ships staff and lectured the soldiers on accountancy for the journey home. He disembarked at Adelaide on 20 October and was discharged from the AIF on 4 December 1919. Upon returning to Adelaide, Ross continued with his legal career. He was a member of the Council of Law Society from 1936 to 1952 and was the Society's president from 1947 to 1949. During the Second World War, Ross returned to military service, serving the South Australia as a legal officer with the rank of captain. He became King's Council in 1945 and was appointed to the Supreme Court Bench in 1952. He became Chief Justice in the late 1950s and retired in 1962. He was created a Knight in the Order of the Bath by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on 26 June 1962. Outside his legal career, Ross was Chancellor for the Dioceses of Adelaide and Willochra, positions which he held for 27 years. He was also the President of the Church of England's Boys Home and President of the Kindergarten Union of South Australia. Ross was also a mason with the SPSC Lodge for 50 years and was Grand Master of his Lodge for 5 years. Sir Dudley Bruce Ross died at the age of 92 on 19 November 1984.