39077 Private
2nd Battalion Hampshire Regiment, 88th Brigade, 29th Division
Age: 34
Date of Death: 29.9.18
Buried: Haringhe (Bandagehem) Military Cemetery III.C.5
Family history: Son of George and Alison Williamson, Carriden, Bo’ness. He had eight sisters, Henrietta, Alison, Mary, Catherine, Margaret, Helen, Davidina and Julia, and two brothers, Andrew and William. He also had a half-brother George and half-sister Agnes, from his father’s first marriage, his wife dying.
Employed as a miner at Kinneil Coal Company, Alexander was married to Elizabeth (after his death Elizabeth remarried) and they had five children, Elizabeth, George, Henry, Alexander, and James. They had moved from Bo’ness and were living at 135 Baldridgeburn, Dunfermline when Alexander enlisted in the Army Ordnance Corps in 1915. He then transferred to the 2nd Battalion, Hampshire Regiment.
The action leading to his death
The Battalion was involved in what became known as the Final Breakout, Battle of Ypres 28 September to 2 October 1918. On the 28 September they were in support of the assaulting Brigades and moved forward along the Menin Road and reached Gheluvelt were they came under machine gun fire. The Battalion now took the lead and made good the ridge Oude-Kruiseecke and towards night fall they were held up by enemy sniping and machine gun fire.
(Linesman Map)
Battalion casualties were Other Ranks 4 killed, 27 wounded and 3 missing. Alexander was one of the wounded and died of his wounds on 29 September at the Casualty Clearing Station at Haringhe.
Medals
The British War Medal, Victory Medal
Headstone
His age is shown as 24. Alexander was 34 years old when he died.
