Maj. Alexander Sanderson, MC, MC*, MID, DSO

Major Alexander Sanderson served as Commanding Officer of the 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company during WWI, after which he relocated to England. Through WWII, he oversaw damage repairs to London transport. During this time he submitted proposals to the Minister of Aircraft Production for the design of VTOL tilt-engine aircraft. Although the designs were not successful, they illustrate the dynamics of scientific developments during wartime, when unconventional ideas and establishing a technological advantage over enemies were seen as essential elements in winning the war.

Alexander Sanderson was born in Oamaru, New Zealand in 1881 and came to Perth with his parents around 1890. He was educated at Perth High School until he was sixteen when he became a cadet engineer under CY O’Connor in the Public Works department. In 1902 he went to the Philippines to work on harbour construction and then returned to Kalgoorlie as a miner. In 1914 he was sent to the country north east of Wyndham to find deep water sites for a freezing (meat) works for the pastoral industry. During this period he surveyed the Charnley, Lennard, King Edward and Prince Rupert Rivers. He anticipated purchasing a lease (Lissadell Station) but returned to Perth to join the Australian Imperial Force and was appointed to Commission, 2nd Lieutenant in 1915 and later to Captain Sanderson. In 1917 he was promoted to a Major and commanded the 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company. After World War 1, he worked for the Indian Army in India and then married and returned to England. During World War II he was in charge of damage repairs to London transport. He retired to Kent, where he died in 1971.

He was born into a family of engineers. Alexander Sanderson’s great grandfather, Henry Sanderson (1798 -1849), was a railway surveyor working with Robert Stephenson and Thomas Telford, who surveyed turnpike roads, the Selby to York Railway and the London to Brighton line. In 1847 Henry proposed a detailed scheme for the renovation of the the crumbling Victorian sewers of London. (This was 12 years before Bazelgette’s famous plan was accepted.) Henry’s book London Sewers Scheme is kept in the circular Oxford Radcliffe Camera Library. Henry’s son Charles worked with Brunel on the Great Western Railway and is quoted extensively in The Institution of Civil Engineers records. Another great uncle, also Henry Sanderson, surveyed the river for the colony in Brisbane, Queensland in the 1850s. Major Alexander’s own grandfather, of the same first name, was an engineer on Portland Harbour and died surveying the Great Indian Peninsular Railway out of Bombay.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/225178658/alexander_sanderson
Alexander Sanderson
BIRTH
3 Dec 1881
Ōamaru, Waitaki District, Otago, New Zealand
DEATH
9 Aug 1971 (aged 89)
Bromley, London Borough of Bromley, Greater London, England
BURIAL
Burial Details Unknown
MEMORIAL ID
225178658

Alexander Sanderson
BIRTH
3 Dec 1881
Ōamaru, Waitaki District, Otago, New Zealand
DEATH
9 Aug 1971 (aged 89)
Bromley, London Borough of Bromley, Greater London, England
BURIAL
Burial Details Unknown
MEMORIAL ID
225178658 · View Source
MEMORIAL
PHOTOS 0
FLOWERS 0

Buried Lewisham. London., England
Family Members
Parents

William James Alexander Sanderson
1857–1893

Augusta Henderson Dalgleish Sanderson
1853–1946

Siblings

Victor Dearsley Sanderson
1883–1891

Francis Randall Sanderson
1885–1955

Margaret Maine Sanderson
1887–1923

William Lauchlan Sanderson
1889–1957

Murchison Sanderson
1891–1893

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FamilySearch Family Tree
Birth: Dec 3 1881 - New Zealand
Death: Aug 9 1971 - Beckenham, Greater London, England
Wife: Gladys Royle Sanderson (born Burden)

GEDCOM Note

birth registered in 1882 (Registered 1882/4365) see photo

GEDCOM Source

England & Wales, Death Index, 1837-2005 MyHeritage Civil registration — the government recording of births, marriages, and deaths — began in England and Wales on 1 July 1837. Local registration districts had jurisdiction for recording civil events, but were required to send copies of their records each quarter to the General Register Office (GRO) in London. The GRO created indexes to these records which are organized by event, year, and quarter, and thereunder alphabetically by surname.Information included in the index changed over the years. The index always provides the name of deceased, registration district, and reference information (volume and page numbers). From 1866 to March 1969, the index also includes age. Beginning in June 1969 the index includes the deceased’s birth date rather than age. Information provided in the indexcan be used to order a copy of the person’s death certificate for a fee from the GRO through their Certificate Ordering Service. Depending on the year, full death certificates may provide: name of deceased, death date, death place, age, sex, occupation, cause of death, name of parent if the deceased is a child, informant’s name, residence, and relationship to the deceased, and date of registration. Note: Information recorded on a death certificate is only as accurate as the knowledge of the person reporting it. It is important to pay attention to who the informant was and their relationship to the deceased. The closer the relationship, the more reliable the information likely is. For years where images of the index are available, be sure to consult the image to verify the informationpresented to you. Sometimes errors happen during the transcription process. For example, a “5” may have inadvertently been transcribed as a “3”. Since there is a fee for ordering certificate copies from the GRO, it is especially important to make sure all reference numbers are correct before placing an order. Search tip: If an individual had multiple given names, sometimes only one or twoof these names was recorded in the index. In addition, some of the given names may have been recorded by initials only. If you’re having trouble locating someone in the index, try searching by any of the individual’s known given names, initials, or nicknames. Collection 10444 MH:S500004 https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10444-79711311/alexander... 4 Alexander SandersonDeath date: July-Aug-Sep 1971Death place: Bromley, Greater London, EnglandBirth date: Mar 1881Volume: 5APage: 806