David Ross (diplomat)

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David Ross (born March 15, 1902 , † August 1984 ) was an Australian - British diplomat, officer and aviation expert.

Life

Qantas Station Superintendent DD Laurie with two employees at the radio station in Dili

Ross joined the Royal Australian Navy as an ensign (cadet midshipman) on December 31, 1915 , after winning an Australia-wide scholarship. At the age of 19 he was sent to England and served aboard British destroyers and battleships for three years. When they were looking for volunteers who wanted to train as naval pilots, Ross returned to Point Cook , Australia in 1925 . At the end of his training Ross was transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He stayed at Point Cook and became a flight instructor. He later took command of a unit of the marine infantry . With the RAAF, Ross was involved in research flights with Seagull III flying boats in New Guinea between October and December 1927 .

In 1931, Ross became a flight operations inspector in the Department of Civil Aviation at the Department of Defense. From April to May 1933 he examined together with the engineer Des Gradiner with a de Havilland DH.60 Moth routes for a new flight connection of Qantas Empire Airways from Darwin to Singapore for the onward connection to London . Ross later became chief flight inspector.

When the Pacific War with Japan was already looming, Ross was sent by the Foreign Ministry to Dili in the Portuguese Timor colony in December 1940 . He was supposed to prepare the start of a Qantas flying boat route via Dili and find out what plans the Japanese were pursuing here. In 1940 the Japanese Nan'yō Kōhatsu had bought 48% of the locally dominant Sociedade Agrícola Pátria e Trabalho (SAPT). Within a few days, Ross was able to establish a secret channel for daily radio messages to Darwin together with the naval secret agent Lieutenant Whittaker. He discovered a secret Japanese airfield, Japanese submarine activity and a secret weapons cache on the Japanese seaplane tender Nanyei Maru . Ross ordered the European population according to the pros and cons of the Axis powers . A Japanese consulate was opened in October 1941. As a result, Ross, who now officially lived in Dili as a representative for civil aviation, was appointed British-Australian Honorary Consul. It was recognized by the Portuguese government on December 10, 1941.

Shortly thereafter, a Dutch- Australian military unit invaded the colony to prevent Japanese use as a base in the Pacific War. Neutral Portugal protested, but did not take military action against the Allies. Ross supported the Allied command in negotiations with the Portuguese colonial administration. In February 1942, the Japanese finally landed and occupied both the Dutch and Portuguese parts of Timor . The Allies withdrew into guerrilla warfare. Ross was captured by Japan during the invasion. He was placed under house arrest. Ross was not allowed to receive visitors here and could only eat poorly, as there was hardly any food to buy in Dili. His servants were also not allowed to leave Dili to look for food in the area.

The Japanese twice sent Ross to the guerrilla units that were resisting in the mountains to persuade them to surrender , but Major Spence, the commander of the Sparrow Force , refused. Ross used the first meeting in Hatulia to brief the Allies on the formation of the Japanese armed forces and to write promissory notes in Portuguese on behalf of the British government for supporters of the Sparrow Force. On March 17th, Ross returned to the Japanese. In June Ross was again sent to the Allies with a surrender demand. Via Ainaro he finally reached their headquarters in Mape on June 25th. Ross was in poor health at the time. This time he had made no promise to return to Dili, so he was sent back to Australia. On July 8, he left the Timorese coastal town of Beco with the landing craft HMAS Kuru and reached Darwin on July 16. Back in Australia, Ross became director of RAAF Transportation and Movements with the rank of colonel (group captain) . At times he commanded the use of 123 Douglas DC-3 aircraft .

After the war, Ross returned to the State Department as an air navigation inspector. From 1946 to 1947 he studied air traffic administration in London and Washington, DC , and served as Australian representative at technical conferences of the International Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal . In 1948 Ross was appointed Regional Director of Civil Aviation in Western Australia . In 1964 he retired.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g David Ross . The Airways Museum & Civil Aviation Historical Society. Archived from the original on February 11, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
  2. ↑ a b c Edward Wills: 75 YEARS ON - DAVID ROSS (1902-1984) - DIPLOMAT AND SPY , 2/2 Commando Association of Australia , accessed August 16, 2017.
  3. ↑ a b Assignment Aisa: WAYNE GOBERT UNCOVERS THE SURPRISING TRUTH OF AUSTRALIA'S INTELLIGENCE WORK BEFORE AND DURING WORLD WAR II. , Accessed on August 16, 2017.
  4. ^ Materials on East Timor during World War II , 2008 (Japanese, English).
  5. ↑ a b Christopher Chant: The Japanese conquest of Timor (II) , accessed August 16, 2017.
personal data
SURNAME Ross, David
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Australian diplomat, officer and aviation expert
DATE OF BIRTH March 15, 1902
DATE OF DEATH August 1984