Alexander, F J. 1917

Frederick James Alexander. Died 12 August 1917. This biography reviewed July 2020.

Frederick Alexander was born in Wokingham on November 1^st 1881 to parents Frederick William and Emily (nee Giles) Alexander. Frederick jr married Rosa Beatrice Francis in 1901 and they had one child Florence Victoria May (1902-1990). In the 1911 Census Frederick and eight year old Florence were living with Emily’s parents, but Emily is not living with them. Frederick had 9 siblings, 2 brothers and 7 seven sisters (two of whom died before their 5^th birthday). Whilst in his early thirties and after carrying out a number of jobs as a labourer, Frederick joined the professional ranks of the First Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment. The Great War erupted and his Battalion saw action in Mons, Ypres, the Somme and eventually in the Battles of Scarpe and Arleux, which were both a part of a larger initiative around Arras. Frederick died of his wounds in August 1917 and is buried in the Bethune cemetery in France. During that August the Battalion was very low on numbers and was just in the process of rebuilding. The main battles of Arras had taken place in the Spring of 1917 and big push at Cambrai was not to start until the November. This means August was a relatively quiet time for the Battalion and it is therefore possible Frederick was killed during either one of the regular skirmishes which took place along the from line or from a relatively longstanding injury from one of the earlier battles.

Frederick’s Alexander family

This Reading based Alexander family reflects almost perfectly the very difficult lives which were led even outside the horrors of the First World War. To give these difficult times some perspective, we can look through the eyes of Frederick’s eldest sister Eliza, the first and therefore the most senior of the ten siblings. Eliza had seen two sisters die in early age, in 1906 both her parents died and to her horror her husband Alf passed away when she was in her mid thirties. In 1913 Eliza had four young children with no husband and no parents to help out. The following year she saw two of her three brothers enter a World War, both being killed in 1914 (William) and Frederick in 1917.  By the end of the war from her nine siblings she now had five. Of those five, three opted to leave England and set up a new life in Canada. Eliza not only had her own worries given her situation, but her eldest son had volunteered for the war whilst still a teenager. For four years Eliza was to worry over the life of her son, but was also deprived of his support in looking after the rest of the family. It is impossible to understand how difficult life for her must have been whilst dealing with both grief and daily survival.

Frederick Alexander on the Wokingham War Memorial

There is no certainty that the Frederick Alexander stated on the war memorial is the Frederick James Alexander who died in 1917. There are a number of Frederick Alexanders on the CWGC Roll of Honour, the main list which accounts for our war dead. However, in a database called ‘Soldiers Died’, there is reference to a Frederick James Alexander who died during the war and had joined up at Wokingham. In addition, a Frederick James Alexander was born in Wokingham. The doubts remain however and mainly because this Frederick was brought up in Reading and seemed to have no connection with Wokingham. To appear on the Wokingham War Memorial a name would have been nominated by the parishioners of four local churches. On checking the locations of his parents and siblings, none of the families moved into Wokingham and would therefore never have been in a position to request his name be listed on the Memorial. However, as we have seen, even if Frederick is not the man nominated, his family story has been remarkable and we are honoured to have researched and reported on their experiences.

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