Roy Rowe

Born in Newstead, Victoria, in 1895, Roy Rowe was an apprentice cabinetmaker in Perth when he enlisted on 10 September 1914. Having served in the Citizen Military Force, he joined the AIF with the rank of sergeant.

He embarked HMAT Kyarra with No. 2 Australian Stationary Hospital (2ASH) at Fremantle on 14 December 1914. In Egypt, he was transferred to and trained with the 15th Stationary Hospital.

Roy sailed with his unit on SS Hindoo from Alexandria, arriving off Cape Helles on 25 April 1915. A part of the medical corps, he experienced the grim human toll of the Gallipoli campaign through his work with the sick and wounded on the hospital ships. On Lemnos, Roy himself was hospitalised, first with enteric fever and later with jaundice, which led to his medical evacuation to Malta.

The Gallipoli campaign was over when Roy rejoined 2ASH in early 1916. He served with the unit in the Port Said area and was promoted to warrant officer in 1917. In 1919, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in recognition of ‘valuable services rendered with the Forces in Egypt’.

Roy returned to Perth in the wake of the war, completing his apprenticeship in cabinetmaking.