My
wife’s grandfather, Alexander Cooper, was a military man. In his later personal
life he is said to have been difficult, almost tyrannical in the
treatment of his children. His life story may explain part of that. I told
quite a bit about the man in a post on 12 August 2014: Sometimes
Those Family Stories Have a Grain of Truth. In it I only briefly mentioned
his army career.
In
this piece, relevant to this time of year, I will tell more about that period
in Alexander’s life that may have significantly impacted his attitudes and
approaches to people.
Alexander
joined the British Army with the Cameronians
(Scottish Rifles)
on 14 August 1885, at the age of 18 (his attestation form says he was 19 years
and 2 months old so he fibbed a bit about that). He was discharged on 30 June
1908, having spent most of his adult life as a soldier. During his service he
almost certainly was imbued with a sense of order and a penchant for following
the instructions of superiors in rank. That mind-set would likely have
permeated his private life after he left the army, particularly when fate dealt
him serious personal setbacks.
Alexander
rose rapidly through the ranks achieving the position of Colour Sergeant in
1896 (the highest rank possible for non-commissioned soldiers). In addition to
the time spent at the Cameronian headquarters in Hamilton, he also served in
India (1894-1895) and South Africa (1901-1902). Toward the end of Alexander’s
army career he was posted back to Glasgow with the Lanarkshire
Rifle Volunteers,
an established battalion that was linked with the Cameronians in 1881.
He
met and married his first wife, Margaret Scott, in 1890 while stationed at the regimental
quarters in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland. She was then living on
Auchingramont Road, in the nearby village. They moved to Church Street,
Hamilton, shortly after their marriage. Alexander and Margaret had two children
together, Mary Jane, born in 1892, and Alexander, born in 1895. Both children
were born in Lossiemouth, Elgin, Scotland, where Margaret’s parents lived. Mary
Jane died of measles in February 1895 on board the ship they were sailing home on
from after a posting in India.
In
1901 the family was located in Kent, England, possibly a stopover on their way
to a posting in South Africa. Alexander would have worked then at the Brompton
Barracks. Following their time in South Africa, Alexander and Margaret returned
to Glasgow. They were living on New City Road in 1907 when Margaret fell ill
with heart disease and died.
Alexander
met and married Elizabeth Walker in 1908 just before his discharge. Both were
living in Glasgow at the time. No doubt Alexander appreciated the help Lizzie
brought to care for his young son. Lizzie also had a child at the time, daughter
Violet, born in 1905. The couple went on to have six children together between
1908 and 1917, the first born on Napiershill Street, Glasgow, and most of the
rest when the family lived on Gayfield Street in the city.
The
family endured another tragedy in 1916 when Alexander Jr. was killed in action
near Bethune, France. He is buried in the local military cemetery there.
Alexander is our lone family connection to WWI, having joined the Cameronians
in the fall of 1914, just before his 19th birthday.
Another
misfortune for Alexander’s family occurred in 1918 when Elizabeth suffered a
severe mental affliction. The seriousness of her condition resulted her being
institutionalized. Their children, shockingly, were told she had died. (I will
deal with that story and subject in a later blog post.) Alexander was now left
with a family of young children, the oldest ten years of age and the youngest
only one.
Having
lost a wife, a daughter and a son, and now losing a second partner, is it any
wonder that Alexander may have been overwhelmed with grief and uncertainty? His
military training did not prepare him for the new familial situation. His
inability to relate to his children other than as a disciplinarian left them traumatized
even more. All of them were either sent to live with grandparents or enrolled
in boarding schools. The radical change to family life affected them all.
Eventually they were separated, growing up under wildly different conditions.
It
is important to remember that Alexander served his country faithfully and with
distinction. His transition to private life, though, was met with unhappiness
and misfortune.
He
died in Glasgow at the relatively young age of just 60, felled finally by
cancer.
