He was the eldest son of Mr and Mrs Angus of Badnellan. He was keen on sports, particularly football and bowls. He worked as the colliery as did most of the Patrol. He had started out as a boilerman. He met he wife, Annabella B Baillie, who worked in T M Hunter’s Wool Mill next door. They married at the Rossalyn Street home of her parents. They had a daughter, Marigold Jane, who married after the war.
| Unit or location | Role | Posted from | until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brora Patrol | Patrol Leader | Unknown | Unknown |
Colliery Winding Engineman
Alex was the original Patrol Sergeant, but left due to ill health. After a long illness he died in Jan 1944.
He had served in Gordon Highlanders during the First World War, being awarded the Military Medal. He was part of the Army of Occupation in Germany in 1919.
Unusually his obituary mentioned that he had been Sergeant of a specialist section of the Brora Home Guard platoon, indicating the Patrol members were known to the locals at this stage of the war. The rest of his Patrol attended his funeral at Brora Church of Scotland, along with the main Home Guard platoon, members of the British Legion branch and the Brora bowls club. It was described as one of the largest funerals in Brora for many years. The cortège walked to Clyde New Cemetery where he was buried. His coffin was draped with the Union Jack and Piper GB Gunn from the Home Guard played “The Flowers of the Forest” as they walked and a lament at the graveside.
TNA ref WO199/3388
John O’Groat Journal 30 Dec 1921, 11 Jan 1922, 11 Feb 1944
Northern Ensign and Weekly Gazette 11 Jan 1922