Ronald Okeden Alexander
Major-General Ronald Okeden Alexander CB DSO (7 August 1888 – 28 July 1949) was a military officer in the Canadian Army, a District Officer, Commanding District No.4, Montreal (1936–38), Number 2 Toronto (1938–40) and Inspector General for Central Canada (1942–46).[1][2][3] He commanded the Western coast defences of Canada during World War II.[1]
Military career
[edit]Alexander was the son of J.A. Alexander, Indian Civil Service, and was born in Kandy, Ceylon on 7 August 1888. He was educated at Bedford Modern School,[4][5][6] On 21 June 1910 he was commissioned as an officer into The Royal Canadian Regiment.[7]
During World War I he was mentioned in despatches three times throughout the conflict and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1917.[8]
Remaining in the army during the interwar period, where he attended the Staff College, Camberley and then served as Professor of Tactics at the Royal Military College of Canada from September 1924−December 1927, he also active during World War II he was Inspector General of the armed forces in Central Canada and was a made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1944.[6] [9]
He died at the age of sixty in Saanich, British Columbia on 27 July 1949.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Obituary in The Times, Major-General R.O. Alexander, 29 July 1949, p.9
- ^ [1] Imperial Vancouver Island:Who Was Who 1850-1950, by JF Bosher, 2010
- ^ "Alexander, Maj.-Gen. Ronald Okeden, (7 Aug. 1888–28 July 1949)". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U221814. ISBN 978-0-19-954089-1.
- ^ Bedford Modern School of the Black and Red by Andrew Underwood (1981)
- ^ The Eagle, Vol. XXVIII, no. 1 (Christmas, 1950), p. 89
- ^ a b The Canadian Who’s Who, Vol. IV, 1948
- ^ "Canadian Army officer histories". Unit Histories. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
- ^ "No. 13033". The Edinburgh Gazette. 1 January 1917. p. 29.
- ^ "No. 36545". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 June 1944. p. 2653.
External links
[edit]- Ronald Okeden Alexander fonds at University of Victoria Special Collections and University Archives
- Canadian Army Officers 1939–1945
- Generals of World War II
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- 1888 births
- 1949 deaths
- Canadian generals
- Canadian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
- Canadian Companions of the Order of the Bath
- Sri Lankan people of Canadian descent
- People from British Ceylon
- People educated at Bedford Modern School
- Canadian Expeditionary Force officers
- Canadian Army generals of World War II
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- Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley
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