Private John Ross was one of the first members of Lovat's Scouts. He attested at Beaufort Castle on 6.2.1900 and arrived in South Africa on 11.3.1900. His enrolment papers state that he attested in the 'Special Highland Scouting Corps' and he was discharged on 31.1.1902 to work as a Locomotive Foreman for the Central African Railways.