Gemmell Alexander

Gemmell Alexander
MBE
Born
William Gemmell Alexander

(1918-08-19)19 August 1918
Hooton, Cheshire, England
Died10 June 2014(2014-06-10) (aged 95)
Education
MovementCo-operative
SpouseRona Page Elias
Children5

William Gemmell Alexander MBE (19 August 1918 – 10 June 2014) was a British military officer, colonial officer, and co-operative and safety expert.

After reading law at Oxford University, he served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 5th Army Division during World War II. He served in France, Africa and Italy, and was present at the capture of the Belsen concentration camp. He was awarded the MBE (Military), and was twice mentioned in despatches.

As a member of the Colonial Service, he served in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (now known as Kiribati and Tuvalu), Mauritius and Cyprus, helping to develop co-operatives.

He was director of the International Co-operative Alliance from 1963 to 1968.

Alexander joined expeditions to Lapland, the Cayman Islands and Iceland. He "cheated death" a number of times and later became the director general of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

References

  1. 1 2 Smith, Anna (24 June 2014). "'Houdini man' who survived gas explosion, WW2, ship bombing, hurricane, gangrene and drowning...dies at 95". The Westmorland Gazette. Archived from the original on 8 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Gemmell Alexander - obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 11 September 2014. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  3. ↑ Shaffer, Jack (1999). Historical Dictionary of the Cooperative Movement. Internet Archive. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-8108-3666-2.