Roswell ‘Ross’ Murray MacTavish was born on September 22, 1888 in St. George, Ontario, the son of William MacTavish and Margaret (née McKay). His father was the Presbyterian minister of Deseronto between 1895 and 1905 and Ross attended both the Deseronto Public School and Deseronto High School.
He studied at Queen’s University, getting his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1907 and a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1913. He had obtained a travelling scholarship and was in England at the outbreak of World War I. On this date in 1914 he enlisted as a trooper in the 2nd King Edward’s Horse regiment. He obtained a commission as a second lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment on March 13th, 1915.
MacTavish was the first person with a Deseronto connection to join the armed forces in the First World War. He rose to the rank of Captain and was awarded the Military Cross on January 1, 1919.
Ross MacTavish’s younger brother, Wilfrid, named his son (born in Saskatchewan in 1919) Roswell Murray. Roswell Murray MacTavish junior joined the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War as a flying officer and was killed when his Hurricane aircraft crashed in Scotland on March 18th, 1944. He was buried in Ayr cemetery.
September 3, 2019 at 3:35 pm
Very interesting. This man was my great uncle on my paternal grandmother’s side. His (considerably) younger sister Gladys was my grandmother. I am also named after him – my middle name is Roswell. Perhaps one day I will get to Longuenesse to see where he is buried.
November 6, 2019 at 4:32 pm
I found this page because I was researching F/O Roswell Murray MacTavish after finding the site of his WW2 plane crash by Loch Doon, in southern Scotland. We have pictures of the crash site and his grave that might be of interest.
November 16, 2019 at 8:01 am
Interesting! Thanks for commenting.
November 16, 2019 at 8:00 am
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Timothy.
May 14, 2021 at 10:55 am
Did you know that his name is on the Madoc Ontario Cenotaph? From what is written here, he had no link to Madoc. Can anyone advise?
May 14, 2021 at 2:18 pm
Hi Steve – how curious! His parents were living in Belleville, so that is intriguing.
November 2, 2022 at 10:36 am
I’m a bit late to this thread but I just want to say that Ross MacTavish’s father was the minister at St. Peter’s Presbyterian Church in Madoc from 1915 to 1922. Ross probably never set foot in Madoc but in a sense he is a son of Madoc.
November 2, 2022 at 10:50 am
I think that explains how his name was included on the Madoc Cenotaph. Thanks Gordon!!
November 2, 2022 at 12:42 pm
Another mystery solved, thanks, Gord!