Alister Ralph Speirs Alexander

Alister joined the Indian Medical Services as a Lieutenant on 28^th January 1911 and was promoted to Captain on 28^th January 1914. He was attached to 2bn 7^th Ghurkha Rifles during the First World War out in Iraq. . The British and Indian Forces had to flee from Baghdad in 1915 and took their stand at Kut. The siege lasted 143 days, until April 1916 and only 2000 men out of a total force of 23,000 men, were left alive. Unfortunately Alister died of wounds on 9^th February 1916 and was buried in the Kut War Cemetery, Iraq.

Alister was born in Plymouth (March) 1887 to Georgina (a Canadian by birth) and Archibald Alexander a Doctor of Medicine. He had two brothers Arthur and Ian. The 1891 census and 1901 census show the family living at 6 Sussex Terrace, (St. Andrew) Plymouth. Alister was educated at University College, London, he qualified as a MB and BS before going onto Army Medical School where he won several medals for Hygiene and military medicine. He was married in (September) 1911, to Mary.M.Marsh in the Tonbridge District of Kent. Mary was a daughter of Major-General and Mrs Marsh who moved to 8 Castle Hill Avenue Folkestone. Mary’s sister Gertrude Cunliffe Marsh married Theodore Gauntlett Thomas in September 1915. (See also Theodore’s entry on this memorial).