Bearsden War Memorial

  Douglas was born at 8pm on 19 th November1920 at a house then called St Omer, Bearsden (now 6 Roman Road) His father was James, a chartered accountant.  His mother, Mary, seems to have been a housewife but her maiden name, Forsyth, became Douglas's middle name. The 1921 Census was taken on the night of Saturday 19th June so many richer families were away from home.  The Alexanders were at 41 Mountstuart Road on Rothesay to stay with Douglas's paternal grandfather and grandmother, accompanied by his parents and older brother William. Around this time the family moved to Dunmyat, 9 Ralston Road, Bearsden. Douglas attended Glasgow High School.  He was an excellent athlete nd The Scotsman carried a report of his achievements in June 1939: The broad jump is now known as the long jump and for context the British champion of the time (who competed in the 1936 Olympics) had a personal best jump of 24 feet.. He was made a 2 nd Lieutenant in the Royal Armoured Corps on 21 st March

  William was born on 14th December 1893 at 123 Blythswood Drive, Glasgow.  (At least one of his army documents says he was born at St Andrews in Fife, but this is incorrect.) His father, also William, was a "Registrar of Births, etc" according the record of his marriage to Margaret (Maggie) Lochhead Loudon in 1891.  He had one sister, May, who was a year older. William was educated at Bearsden Public School (now the primary school at Bearsden Cross), then Glasgow High School.  He was in the Scouts and the Boys Brigade. When he left school he initially went to work as a mercantile clerk for James Morton and Sons.  They were iron merchants, meaning they bought iron from makers and sold it (or stored until prices improved) before selling to the highest bidder.  Their office was at 8 Prince's Square, Glasgow, prior to its metamorphosis into a centre for eating and shopping in the late 1980s.  The approximate site of number 8 is the poster of the woman's face to the left: