Alexander Wilkinson

Colonel William Alexander Camac Wilkinson, (6 December 1892 – 19 September 1983) was a highly decorated British Army officer and English cricketer. Australian born, he served with the British Army in both the First and Second World Wars. After the Second World War he spent some time in Graz, Austria, as Senior Military Government Officer in the occupation forces.

He also had a first-class cricket career lasting 27 years. He was regarded as one of the most consistent batsmen of his day, despite playing much of his career with a damaged right hand. The injury occurred when he was shot during the First World War, and he narrowly avoided having the hand amputated.

Personal life Born in Sydney on 6 December 1892, he was the son of Middlesex cricketer William Wilkinson, who was at that time in practice as a doctor in the city. With his father's move to Britain, Alexander attended Eton College. He attended University College, Oxford, between 1910 and 1914, representing the university at cricket and hurdling. He died in Sussex in 1983, aged 90. Following the outbreak of the First World War, he was appointed a temporary second lieutenant in the Army Service Corps on 3 November 1914.

On 6 January 1916 he was appointed a probationary Special Reserve second lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards. He was promoted to lieutenant on 21 October 1915, and acting captain on 20 July 1917. He was awarded the Military Cross (MC) on 26 September 1917, and the citation was published on 9 January 1918, reading:

Wilkinson was also awarded a Bar to the MC. From 17 December 1920 to 3 September 1923 he was assistant superintendent of the school of army physical training. He was promoted to substantive captain on 15 September 1924. On 2 January 1928 he was seconded to act as adjutant of a Territorial Army unit, the Honourable Artillery Company, holding the appointment until his promotion to major on 1 March 1931. He retired on 1 September 1933.

Second World War Recalled to the army with the start of the Second World War, Wilkinson was a temporary lieutenant colonel commanding the 14th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) when a number of his men strayed into a minefield. Several were killed, and one injured man could be seen in the middle of the mined area, still moving. Royal Engineers had been sent for to clear the mines, and a doctor who happened to be present gave the opinion that the wounded man was unlikely to survive. Whilst the doctor was talking to the other officer present, Wilkinson entered the minefield, and managed to bring out the wounded man single-handed. For those actions, Wilkinson was awarded the George Medal (GM) on 8 July 1941, as was the Royal Engineer officer, Major Arthur Henry Musgrave Norris, who subsequently cleared the remainder of the minefield, and Regimental Sergeant Major Ernest Joseph Legg (West Surreys) and Lance-Sergeant Harry Fred Hardy (RE), who assisted.

A 4.2-inch mortar of 'S' Troop of the 327th Battery, 99th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, in action with the mortar for the first time, at Monte Cassino, Italy, 1944.

14th Queen's was converted into 99th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, on 1 December 1941 and Wilkinson formally transferred to the Royal Artillery on 1 June 1942. For the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky), 99th LAA Regiment was split up among various 'Beach Bricks' for the assault phase. Wilkinson commanded the anti-aircraft elements of No 34 Beach Brick, consisting of one of his own batteries and one from 100th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment. When it came to the landing on 10 July 1943 No 34 Beach Brick was unlucky: the Landing Craft Infantry carrying the advance party smashed its ramp, came under fire, and veered off course, finally landing the party from its intended beach north of Avola. The party had to work along the coast, close to the enemy, through two minefields, before reaching their allotted area, where the guns were being landed from Landing Craft Tanks. Wilkinson later described the landing to his opposite number of 100th HAA Rgt as 'A very pleasant exercise in Combined Operations with sufficient enemy fire to make it mildly interesting'.

Wilkinson was still commanding 99th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment when on 13 May 1944, during the final stages of the Battle of Monte Cassino he performed the actions that led to his award of the Distinguished Service Order on 21 September 1944. His regiment had been detailed to make smoke to cover the bridges over the Gari River, early in the day it was reported that there was no smoke covering one particular bridge (codenamed Amazon). Wilkinson took a jeep to investigate the situation for himself, approaching the bridge the trailer from another jeep was found, which contained the equipment for making smoke, which was then loaded into his own jeep. It was later determined that both officers responsible for the bridge had been injured (one killed), and the sergeant had also been killed, and initial supplies of smoke canisters had been exhausted. Wilkinson proceeded to cross the bridge on foot, under mortar and small arms fire, carrying replacement smoke canisters. He managed to begin the re-establishment of the smoke screen, left the one man still there tending the new smoke canisters, and gathered an additional party of men to ensure the screen was maintained.

With the end of hostilities, Wilkinson was appointed to the military government in the British Zone in Austria, based in Graz, from July 1945. He was noted for his broadcasts, in German, on the local radio service, covering the province of Styria, of which Graz is the capital. The retirement was ostensibly because he had exceeded the age limit for service, but his obituary in The Times stated that it was due to his disagreement with the official policy of forcible repatriation to Russia. Wilkinson played twice for the Sussex second XI in 1910, though he never played for the first team, nor did he play county cricket.

He did, however, have a substantial first-class career, spanning more than a quarter of a century, making his debut for HK Foster's XI against Oxford University during the 1912 English cricket season. He played for the university against Foster's team the following year and played eight first-class matches for the university that year, gaining his blue when he played against Cambridge University at Lord's in July. though three matches were played against New Zealand on that leg. The games were not Test matches, however, because New Zealand had not then gained Test status. They were first-class matches though, and Wilkinson played in all three, so he participated in a total of 11 first-class matches across the two tours. which was his last first-class game for almost three years. and scored a century in the second. He resumed his first-class career in May 1934 with a match for the Free Foresters against Oxford University, and over the following five years was a regular for the Free Foresters and the MCC, usually playing first-class matches against the two university teams, though he also played for the MCC against Kent in the 1935 season. His last first-class match was for the MCC against Oxford University in June 1939. against HDG Leveson-Gower's XI in the 1913 English cricket season. All his wickets came that season.

Golf Wilkinson also represented the Household Brigade at golf, and played for the Harlequins golf club.