DOWNES, Rupert Major
| Service Number: | VX57673 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 October 1942, Paramatta, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Major General |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance |
| Born: | Adelaide, South Australia, 10 February 1885 |
| Home Town: | Malvern, Stonnington, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Haileybury College, and at Ormond College, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Surgeon, Academic, Army medical officer, Military historian |
| Died: | Aircraft accident, Machan's Beach, Cairns, Queensland, Australia, 5 March 1945, aged 60 years |
| Cemetery: |
Cairns War Cemetery Plot A. Row D. Grave 18. |
| Memorials: | Black Rock Royal Melbourne Golf Club Honour Roll WW2, Melbourne Cricket Club WW2 Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Feb 1915: | Involvement 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '22' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Chilka embarkation_ship_number: A51 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Feb 1915: | Embarked 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance, HMAT Chilka, Melbourne |
World War 2 Service
| 8 Oct 1942: | Involvement Major General, VX57673 | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Oct 1942: | Enlisted Paramatta, NSW | |
| 8 Oct 1942: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Major General, VX57673 |
Help us honour Rupert Major Downes's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by David Barlow
RAAF Lockheed Hudson A16-118 (VMZI-FM) crashed into the sea about 400 yards out from Machan's Beach, just north of the mouth of the Barron River near Cairns - the pilot had been warned not to take off due to a cyclone in the area, however they left from Townsville and crashed near Cairns. The aircraft was carrying:
Major General George Alan Vasey VX9 - HQ 7 Australian Division
Major General Rupert Major Downes CMG VD of the Australian Army Medical Corps
Lieutenant Colonel George Anthony Bertram OBE NX324 of Advanced Land HQ "G" Branch Australian Headquarters
Corporal Edward Lewis James NX4011 of Local Administration Staff Australian Headquarters - Batman to General Vasey
Colonel Robert Heathcote Russell DSO NX168 of the Australian Army Medical Corps
Lieutenant William Riggall VX80932 of the Australian Army Service Corps - PA to General Vasey
RAAF crew from Number 4 Communications Flight:
Flight Lieutenant John William Newell 404543
Flying Officer Gordon Thomson DFM 400573
Warrant Officer Berrol Samuel Frieze 409400
Flying Officer Donald James Bassett 406465
Leading Aircraftman John Dudley Moore 77157
Biography contributed by Faithe Jones
Downes, Rupert Major (1885–1945)
by A. J. Hill
Rupert Major Downes, surgeon and soldier, was born on 10 February 1885 at Mitcham, Adelaide, youngest child of Major General Major Francis Downes and his wife Helen Maria, née Chamberlin. Rupert was educated at Haileybury College, Melbourne, and at Ormond College, University of Melbourne (M.B., Ch.B., 1907; M.D., 1911; M.S., 1912). When still at school, he had joined the Victorian Horse Artillery (Rupertswood Battery) as a trumpeter and he had served in the Melbourne University Rifles. In July 1908 he was commissioned as a captain in the Australian Army Medical Corps.
The first six years of his career were fruitful and happy ones. Downes was a demonstrator in anatomy at the university and a tutor at Ormond, and worked as a clinical surgical assistant at the Melbourne and Children's hospitals. At the same time he threw himself into the work of the A.A.M.C., being promoted major in 1913. On 20 November he married Doris Mary Robb at St John's Church, Toorak.
When the Australian Imperial Force was raised in 1914, Downes was given command of the 2nd Light Horse Field Ambulance and promoted lieutenant-colonel, the youngest in the A.I.F.
https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/downes-rupert-major-6008 (adb.anu.edu.au)
Click images to start slideshow.