Maj Gen Alexander
VC CB CMG
Major General Ernest Wright
Alexander lived at Horswell House
(right) in South Milton after the
First World War until his death in
1934. His portrait hangs in the
village hall, of which he was a
great supporter.
He was a 43-year-old major (below)
with the 119th Battery Royal
Artillery when his heroic deeds at
Elouges, Belgium, on August 24,
1914, during the Battle of Mons,
earned him the Victoria Cross for
conspicuous bravery — the highest
military award that can be
bestowed on members of the
British armed forces.
Lord Ernest Hamilton’s description
of Alexander’s action in the retreat
from Mons, which appeared in in
‘The First Seven Divisions’, was as
follows:
‘The dismounted men were
gradually withdrawn. During the
course of one of these withdrawals,
Captain Francis Grenfell, 9th
Lancers, noticed Major Alexander,
of the 119th Battery, in difficulties
with regard to the withdrawal of
his guns.
‘All his horses had been killed, and
almost every man in the
detachment was either killed or
wounded. Captain Grenfell offered
assistance, which was gladly
accepted, and presently he
returned with eleven officers of his
regiment, and some forty men.
‘The ground was very heavy, and
the guns had to be run back by
hand under a ceaseless fire, but
they were all saved; Major
Alexander, Captain Grenfell, and
the rest of the officers working as
hard as the men.
‘Captain Grenfell was already
wounded when he arrived, and
was again hit while manhandling
one of the guns, but he declined to
retire till they were all saved. For
this fine performance Major
Alexander and Capt Grenfell were
each awarded the Victoria Cross.’
Grenfell’s VC was the first awarded
in the Great War. Alexander’s was
gazetted on February 18, 1915, with
the following citation: ‘For
conspicuous bravery and great
ability at Elouges on August 24,
1914, when the flank guard was
attacked by a German corps, in
handling his battery against
overwhelming odds with such
conspicuous success that all his
guns were saved, notwithstanding
that they had to be withdrawn by
hand by himself and three other
men. This enabled the retirement of
the 5th Division to be carried out
without serious losses.
Subsequently Major Alexander
rescued a wounded man under
heavy fire, with the
greatest gallantry and devotion to
duty.’
He commanded an artillery
brigade as a Lieutenant Colonel,
and in 1915 was appointed
Brigadier General, RA, of the 15th
Division. He became Major
General, RA, of the First Army
under Lord Horne in 1917.
He was created CMG in 1915 and
CB in 1919, before retiring in 1920.
He also received the Croix de
Guerre, and was mentioned in
despatches nine times.
Ernest Wright Alexander was born
in Liverpool on October 2, 1870, his
father Robert being a shipowner
and director of the Suez Canal. He
went to Harrow in 1884 and then to
the Royal Military Academy.
His first commission came in July
1889. Two spells of service in India
followed: first from 1892-1900 and
then from 1903-1906, during which
he was promoted to major.
He and his wife Rose were married
in 1903, and they had four children.
At the time of Major General
Alexander’s death, Robert, the
elder son, was a lieutenant in the
Royal Navy, serving on HMS
Rodney in Plymouth; his elder
daughter Ann was married to
Lieutenant Colonel W P Akerman;
and Mary, the youngest child, was
still at school. His second son,
George William, had died in 1914,
aged three, at about the time that
his father was winning the VC in
Belgium.
Major General Alexander died on
August 23, 1934, following an
operation in Kingsbridge Hospital.
He was cremated at Putney Vale
Crematorium, South West London,
and a memorial service was held at
All Saints’ Church, South Milton.
The Alexanders were supporters of
many organisations across the
South Hams, and, in a leader
column, the Kingsbridge Gazette
commented that ‘residents of the
character of the late Major General
Alexander are such that any
district can ill afford to lose. He
was appreciated not only for his
readiness to respond to appeals for
any good cause, but for his genuine
desire to help forward any work
which would be of benefit to the
neighbourhood. As one who took a
responsible part in the
administration of local affairs, he
was not a maker of speeches, but
whether in the council chamber or
on the bench his remarks were
always the pointed and pertinent
observations of a man possessing
the power of keen penetration and
of wise experience. His passing is a
matter of profound regret.’
In his will, the gross value of his
estate was £91,815. Among the
bequests he made was an annuity
of £52 to Thomas Williams, who
had been his batman since 1906
and had subsequently joined the
gardening staff at Horswell House.
Gunner Williams was serving to
the right of Major Alexander in the
Retreat from Mons in 1914.
Mrs Alexander died in 1935.
Major General Alexander’s
Victoria Cross and other awards
were sold at auction in 1999 for
£80,000, and are on display at the
Imperial War Museum in the Lord
Ashcroft Collection.