John Ross –
the history man Battle of Albuhera ss explainig the . Above: John Ro iation of Horsham oc Ass gt Re to the Queens
In the course of researching the history of RAF Chailey, I was recommended to talk to John Ross as someone ‘who knows something about’ wartime Sussex. by Roger Linn
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hat description of his expertise was something of an understatement. When I visited him at his home in Albourne, I discovered a man who knows a great deal about not just the Second World War but the broadest sweep of naval and military history. A professional researcher and writer, John Ross (pictured above right) is both modest about his achievements and unassuming in manner, but is unquestionably the ‘go to’ man for anybody who wants to learn about our military heritage. To give him his proper title and without veering off into his heavyweight academic qualifications, John is a Defence Analyst and Applied Historical Researcher. An ex-professional soldier and now retired from long-time service as an
“I’m in the business of helping people explore their past.” 2
SUSSEX LIVING December 2012
officer in the TA, John is not just a trained researcher, but a battlefield guide. He is a friendly, rather jolly person and more than happy to talk about his passion for history. “I’m in the business of helping people explore their past,” he told me. “For example, in recent years there has a tremendous upsurge of interest in family genealogy. People want to trace their family history but, funnily enough, the problem is not that the information is hard to come by, in fact the reverse is true. There are so many sources that people often don’t know where to start. However, if there’s a military connection in the family, then I can definitely help them find out what they want to know. That’s the point of being a trained researcher, I suppose,” he grinned. Helping people understand history is a continuing theme in John’s work, as is evident from the obvious enjoyment he takes from acting as a battlefield guide. “In terms of understanding what our fathers went through in two world wars,” John enthuses, “there is nothing to
compare with ‘seeing’ events as they took place on the ground.” Having experienced one such ‘tour’ myself, I can only agree with him. He went on to say that he gets such great satisfaction from conducting people around these foreign fields because, often, he is helping them to fulfil a dream, particularly when they are looking for the grave of a father or grandfather. John says he is always more than happy to take small groups to battlefields of both world wars, including the Somme, Normandy, Northern Europe, Italy and Gallipoli. “All they need to do is give me a call and I’ll put together a plan.” I remembered too late that I’d come to talk about Sussex in World War II, but then I realised that it gave me an excellent excuse to return and go on picking the brains of this remarkable man.
JOHN ROSS For enquiries, please contact John Ross on 01273 831063 or email ross068@msn.com
www.sussexliving.com