Ernest Alexander

Who was Ernest Alexander?

Major General Ernest Wright Alexander VC CB CMG was by birth an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Alexander was trained at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and commissioned into the British Army. At the age of 43, as a major in the 119th Battery Royal Field Artillery, during the First World War, he was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry.

On 24 August 1914, during the action of Elouges, Belgium, when the flank guard was attacked by a German corps, Alexander handled 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overwhelming odds with such conspicuous success that all his guns were saved notwithstanding that they had to be withdrawn by hand by himself and volunteers led by a Captain of the 9th Lancers. This enabled the retirement of the 5th Division to be carried out without serious loss. Subsequently, Major Alexander rescued a wounded man under heavy fire.

He later achieved the rank of major general. His medal group is on display at the Ashcroft Gallery in the Imperial War Museum, London. He has a headstone in Putney Vale Cemetery.