Able Seaman Alexander Leigh Vickery
| Date of Birth | 6 November 1892 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 23 |
| Date of Death | 31 May 1916 |
| Service Number | |
| Military Service | Royal Navy (Black Prince) |
| Merton Address | 35, Prince Gorge Avenue Raynes Park |
| Local Memorial | St. Saviour’s Church, Raynes Park |
Additional Information
Born in East Ham, Essex in 1892, Alexander was the second child of grocer, Marwood Vickery and his wife, Louisa. The couple already had an older daughter, Mildred. Marwood was originally from Sampford Peverell in Devon, but moved around for much of his life, settling in Buckinghamshire, before moving to Essex during the late Victorian era. In 1893 the Vickery family moved to Parsons Green, London, where Alexander was baptised. His brother, Wilfred, was born two years later. A sister, Dora was born in 1898, by which stage the family had moved to Teddington. A second sister, Maude, was born at Kew in 1898 and a further two siblings, Grace and Frederick were added to the family in 1902 and 1905.
By 1911 Louisa Vickery was living in a 10 – 12 room house at 30 Gloucester Road, Teddington with six of her children. Her eldest daughter was now working as a milliner’s assistant ( making and selling hats, ) whilst young Wilfred was apprenticed as a sheet metal worker. Marwood Vickery, although still listed as married, appears on the 1911 census as a carriage builder, lodging at the home of Tailor, Richard King in London Road, Twickenham.
Alexander Vickery joined the navy at Portsmouth in 1909, shortly before his seventeenth birthday. Enlistment papers from this period describe him as 5 feet, 5 inches tall, with a fresh complexion, fair hair and blue eyes. By 1911 he was living at the vast Portland naval base.
Alexander served on several vessels, including Ganges II, Antrim and Excellent, before finally joining the crew of the Black Prince in April 1916. Tragically just one month later, this was one of several ships sunk in the Battle of Jutland – the largest sea offensive of the First World War.
Alexander was lost at sea on 31 May. His body was never found but he is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial. At the time of his death, his mother was living at 35, Prince George Avenue, Raynes Park and this probably explains why Alexander’s name also appears on the memorial at St. Saviour’s Church.