Commemorated: | |||
Awards & Titles: | Volunteer Officers' Decoration Deputy Lieutenant Justice of the Peace | ||
Early Life :
See also: Wikipedia.See also: Freemasonry Matters - Stuart Harker.
Alexander was the second son of Captain Thomas Hamilton McBean, Scots Greys, a veteran of the Crimean War by his wife Roseanna Taylor, daughter of Reverend Thomas Taylor M.A. of Ballynure, County Wicklow and Kingston, Ontario. The family at the time were barracked in Canterbury, Thomas listed as Quartermaster of the 2nd Dragoon Guards.
His father having died in Birmingham before settling back home in Scotland, whilst Alexander was still young, the family remained in the area but he was sent to be educated privately in Edinburgh and later at King Edward's School, Birmingham. He entered the offices of a leading Iron Merchant firm, where he was taken into partnership. He soon founded his own business as an Iron and Steel Merchant and became one of the leading men in his trade and one of the best known men on the Birmingham Iron Exchange.
Amongst his accolades he was President of both Wolverhampton Chamber of Commerce and of the Burns’ Club 1895-96; Justice of the Peace from 1896; Appointed as Chief Magistrate for the Borough of Wolverhampton in 1898 and County Magistrate in April 1903. He was nominated as a Conservative Councillor for St. Mark’s Ward in 1890 and became an active member of the Public Works, Water and Lighting Committees. After the division of the wards he became councillor for Dunstall. He became Mayor of Wolverhampton, 1897/8 and then one of the Borough’s Alderman.
He was appointed as Deputy Lieutenant of Staffordshire.
His image can be found in Portraits and Biographies of Eminent Men of England.
Family :
He married Eliza Ward (‘Lisa’) Amatt, the daughter of Henry Alfred Amatt, an Iron Founder, on 31 October 1876 at Birchfield, Staffordshire.They had two sons, Captain Alexander Hamilton McBean, Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders and Archibald Darby-Griffith McBean, and four daughters. The elder son, Alexander was his father’s heir. Having initially joined the volunteer battalion of the South Staffordshire regiment, after the start of the 1st World War, he joined the 4th Battalion, Cameron Highlanders (Commanding the battalion at Etaples in 1916), then served in the 1st Battalion and finally the 5th Battalion. He was gassed twice, once severely, wounded twice, once very severely. He was mentioned in dispatches and awarded the Croix de Guerre.
Archibald gained his middle name from General Henry Darby-Griffith, who was his grandfather Thomas Hamilton McBean’s Colonel and had commanded the Scots Greys in the Crimea and led them (including Thomas) at the successful Charge of the Heavy Brigade during the Battle of Balaclava. Both he and his brother died unmarried and without children, Archibald on 23 September 1945, and Alexander Hamilton on 30th December, 1950.
Their eldest sister Esmé Lisa McBean married another well known figure from Staffordshire, Colonel William John Beddows MC, TD, JP; they lived at Ardgowan, a home adjoining Tyninghame in Tettenhall, and then Ackleton House near Bridgnorth, Shropshire.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The Second Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902, South Africa.
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: South Staffordshire Regiment |
| Action : War Survivor |
Although many perished in times of national conflict and in the service of their country, many more survived including those interned as Prisoners of War. Stories of those who did survive are included as part of this site, especially those with high gallantry awards, those included against an external rolls of honour and those who had a distinguished career in wartime and military leaderhip.
Detail :
Lieutenant Colonel Commandant (Honorary Colonel 1903) of he 3rd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment, 1901-1906. He served on the District Command of the National Reserve, South Staffordshire, 1911-1914 and was on the War office Committee framing regulations for National Reserve, helped raising new Battalions, 1914; later in command of Districts and Depots. He served as Lt. Colonel of 6th Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment 1915-1917. Alexander took active interest before and during South African Campaign period and after, and in Europe War in all associations for sailors and soldiers and their families and also for Royal Patriotic Fund.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Lodge of Honour No. 526 E.C. | Staffordshire |
| Joined : | Tudor Lodge of Rifle Volunteers No. 1838 E.C. | Staffordshire |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
9th March 1883 | 24th April 1883 | 29th May 1883 |
Alexander was initiated in 1883 becoming Worshipful Master of two Masonic Lodges in Wolverhampton -the Lodge of Honour and the Tudor Lodge of Rifle Volunteers.
He was also a past officer of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Staffordshire.
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley