Alister Ross was one of the earliest volunteers to join the AIF. He enlisted on 19 August, 1914 and was called up a week later. The youngest child of Jane and Alexander Ross, he had grown up in Gippsland, being born at Maffra and later living at Sale. He was a blacksmith by trade, aged 23, 5' 8" tall, with black hair and brown eyes. He was attached to the 8th Battalion, raised from country Victoria, the first infantry unit raised for the AIF and forming part of the 2nd Brigade with the 5th, 6th and 7th Battalions. 

The 8th Battalion set sail on board HMAT 'Benalla' A24 on 19 October, 1914, joining the first military convoy at Albany, then proceeded to Egypt, arriving on 2 December. On 25 April, the 8th Battalion landed at Anzac Cove, as part of the second wave of infantry. Alister Ross survived the landing unscathed. The Battalion moved  to Cape Helles in April to join the British regiments in the attempt to take the village of Krithia, costing the 2nd Brigade almost one-third of its strength. From here, the 8th Battalion was returned to Anzac to defend the beachhead and it was here on 19th June that Ross was badly wounded with a gunshot wound in his left leg, shattering the femur.

He was taken to the hospital ship H.M.S. 'Gascon' and then transferred to No 17 General Hospital at Alexandria, where he stayed for a month. From Alexandria, he was transferred to England on board HMS 'Letitia' on 4 August, 1915, and placed in the 4th London General Hospital at Denmark Hill on  16 August. It marked the end of his military service. He was sent back to Australia on 25 November on board HMT 'Runic' and discharged from further military duty on 24 February, 1916. It is unclear whether or not he got a military pension. He was clearly eligible, but no paperwork exists in his record.

Alister Ross and Muriel Wentworth Bonner were married on 9 August 1919 at the Church of Christ, Lygon St., Carlton, Victoria. They resided in Melbourne for about three months, before moving to Tasmania, Muriel's home state, where they had three children, Doreen, Sydney and Lindsay. Hoever, by 1929, Muriel sued for divorce. She stated that they had lived together for several years, with the exception of 6 months, when 'the respondent' was in Victoria looking for work, probably 1924, when Ross was reistered to vote in East Melbourne. In 1925, he left again for the mainland, saying he would send for her when he obtained work, but never returned. She had not heard from him since. The Supreme Court granted her the divorce and custody of the children. She was to marry again.

Alister Ross remained single and died aged 50 at Hill End, Victoria, on 20 October, 1941. There are no electoral roll records of him other than for 1924.