Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

World War One was a tragic time for the human race as a whole, however, the people who were affected the most are the common people who gave their services in the war. Unfortunately information related to these people is lost in the documents of the past, however, this small biography is an attempt to honour one such soldier who gave his services in World War 1.

Douglas James Amos was born on 26 November 1880 in Gannawarra Victoria. He was a natural-born British subject (meaning he was of British descent and born in a British colony) and after growing up in Victoria, he moved to Camden in Adelaide with his family. He followed the Anglican Church of England religiously and he had two children and a wife whose name was Annie Elizabeth Amos. Prior to becoming a soldier, Douglas James Amos had studied and held the occupation of health inspector. This required him to examine food and drink items and check their quality and whether they were safe of drugs.

An amazing fact about Douglas James Amos is that he also served in the South African war for 1 year and 6 months. This was before World War 1.  After the South African war, he continued to work as a health inspector until World War 1.

On the day of 19 January 1918, Douglas James Amos enlisted to take part in WW1 and on 18 March 1918, he was assigned to the Australian Imperial Force 11/48th battalion as a private. Soon after, on 22/3/1918, Douglas James Amos embarked from Sydney via the ship A54 RUNIC to join the 11/48th Battalion.  He was given the service number 3846 during his time in World War 1.

Since Douglas James Amos had war experience from the South African War, he was quickly promoted to the rank of corporal on 6/1/1919. He served different battalions in this position like the 48th battalion and the 24th Battalion. During the war, he caught influenza and had to be hospitalized, however further information was not disclosed other than this. After the case of influenza, he returned back to the field.

Douglas James Amos did suffer some injuries during the war, however, none left any permanent physical or psychological damage. He was one of the very few lucky soldiers that managed to help the nation during World War One, while still being in complete healthy shape.

After around a year of service, Douglas James Amos received the victory medal, a medal that signified the Allies victory over the central powers, and he then returned to Australia on 13 July 1919 via the ship H.T. Persic. He was later officially discharged on 1/10/1919.

Surprisingly Douglas James Amos did not continue his career as a health inspector, instead, he became the author and wrote a series known as the Commonwealth series. Some of his works include:

The story of the Commonwealth Bank

The story of the Commonwealth Fleet

The story of the Commonwealth railway and the note issue

The story of the Commonwealth woollen mills

The story of the Commonwealth oil refineries and the search for oil

All these books were written between the years 1932 and 1936. After returning to Australia and becoming an author, Douglas James Amos did not take part in any other political or national issues and led a normal quiet life with his family. He then passed away naturally on 9th October 1960 at the age of 80. The Centennial Park cemetery pays tribute to this great man for his deeds and services towards this country in times of grief and tragedy unlike any the world has ever seen.