Branch of Service

Army

Conflict

World War II (1939-1945)

Date of Enlistment

23/04/1943

Date of Discharge

11/07/1946

Place of Enlistment

Launceston, Tasmania

Gender

Male

Date of Birth

18/03/1918

Place of Birth

Gundagai NSW

Address (at enlistment)

'Weston', Cotter Road, Canberra ACT

School(s) Attended

Canberra Grammar School, University of Sydney

Occupation

Medical doctor

Next of Kin

Dorothy De Salis (wife), 'Weston', Cotter Road, Canberra ACT

Service Number

TX6477

Final Rank

Captain

Final Unit

2/3 Anti Aircraft Regiment

Eric De Salis was the second son of Rodolph and Eileen De Salis. The family moved around New South Wales as his father was posted to various branches of the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney. They then lived at 'Bondo' near Cooma, 'Yarrawa' near Adaminaby and finally 'Weston' near Canberra, now part of Weston Creek. After completing school at Canberra Grammar in 1936 he was awarded a scholarship by the council of the Canberra University College and won the Dr. John Osborne R.N. Scholarship (awarded by the University of Sydney) to study Medicine in Sydney. After enlisting he married Dorothy Pratt in Sydney on 22 June 1943. He served in the war as a medical officer in Papua New Guinea and Borneo and was one of the first doctors to use penicillin in the field. After the war De Salis worked in the pathology laboratory at Royal Canberra Hospital as well as the School of Public Health at Sydney University. He became a fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia in 1956. He continued to work at the pathology laboratory in Canberra until his retirement in 1979. He died on 14 February 2002, was buried in Woden Cemetery and is commemorated by Eric De Salis Street in Macgregor.

WWII Nominal Roll http://www.ww2roll.gov.au
Eric De Salis, 'Weston', notes for a talk delivered by the author, Wardle Collection, Canberra & District Historical Society
ACT Street Names http://apps.actpla.act.gov.au/actlic/places/search/originsSearch_new.htm
The Canberra Times - 7 July 1943
Image from the 'The Canberran : Magazine of Canberra Grammar School', 1937 (p.15)
Image and information courtesy of Adrienne Bradley