Roy Burston

Roy Burston was born on 21 March 1888 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He was the son of James Burston, a businessman and former Lord Mayor of Melbourne, and Marianne McBean. He attended Melbourne Church of England Grammar School and then studied medicine at the University of Melbourne, graduating in 1910. He worked as a resident medical officer at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney and then moved to Adelaide, where he opened a private hospital and married Ethel Blunt in 1913. They had two children: Samuel and Mary. He joined the Australian Army Medical Corps in 1912 and served as a medical officer in World War I, first at Gallipoli and then on the Western Front. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his bravery at the Battle of Messines in 1917. He also became a Companion of the Order of the Bath and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his service. After the war, he returned to Adelaide and became an honorary physician at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. He also became a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and a foundation fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. He was involved in various business ventures, such as timber milling, dairy farming and newspaper publishing. He also won a medal from the Royal Humane Society for rescuing a drowning man in 1928. In 1934, he moved to Melbourne and became the deputy director of medical services for Victoria. He was promoted to director general of medical services in 1942 and served as the chief medical officer of the Australian Army in World War II. He oversaw the medical care of Australian troops in various theatres of war, such as the Middle East, Greece, Syria, Malaya, Papua New Guinea and Burma. He was instrumental in advising the withdrawal of the 9th Division from Tobruk in 1941 due to health reasons. He also improved the medical training, equipment and research of the army. He was knighted in 1945 for his distinguished service. After retiring from the army in 1948, he became the chief commissioner of St John Ambulance Australia until 1957. He was also involved in thoroughbred racing as a punter and an owner. He became the chairman of the Moonee Valley Racing Club in 1952 and made the W S Cox Plate one of the richest races in Australia. He also built a grandstand named after him at Moonee Valley. He married Heather Lovejoy after Ethel's death in 1958. He died of lung cancer on 21 August 1960 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He was buried at St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney. He was widely respected for his leadership, vision and passion for medicine and racing¹.