BRACKS, Alexander Hammond
| Service Numbers: | W14679, 62774 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 June 1917, Home service services #MT1486/1 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st to 3rd (WA) and (TAS) Reinforcements |
| Born: | North Fremantle, Perth, Western Australia, 18 June 1899 |
| Home Town: | Fremantle, Fremantle, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Scotch College, Claremont, Western Australia |
| Occupation: | Dental Orderly |
| Died: | Bicton, Western Australia, 12 January 1974, aged 74 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Fremantle Cemetery, Western Australia Cremation. Memorialised Fremantle Crematorium Niche Wall F, position 0046 |
| Memorials: | Fremantle Scots Church Honour Roll, Nedlands Scotch College WW1 Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Jun 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, W14679, Dental Details: AIF, Home service services #MT1486/1 | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Nov 1917: | Discharged AIF WW1, Dental Orderly | |
| 29 Oct 1918: | Involvement Private, 62774, 1st to 3rd (WA) and (TAS) Reinforcements, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '20' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Boonah embarkation_ship_number: A36 public_note: '' | |
| 29 Oct 1918: | Embarked Private, 62774, 1st to 3rd (WA) and (TAS) Reinforcements, HMAT Boonah, Fremantle |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Helen Harmer
Alexander Hammond Bracks was born in North Fremantle on 18th June 1899. His grandmother Elizabeth died in Melbourne in 1903 and his grandfather, Alexander, a papermaker, died of typhoid fever on the 12th February 1906 in Broome St, North Fremantle. Alexander’s father was Robert Bracks, contractor, of the same address. Early newspaper reports list him as a candidate in the WA Sunday School Union Annual Scripture Exam, and in 1915, the Fremantle Chamber of Commerce’s exam, where he obtained a second grade pass. Alexander attended Scotch College in Claremont. On his enlistment attestation paper, Alexander states that his previous military service was with the Cadets and 10 months in the AIF. It shows the number W14679 for Home Service with the AAMC (Dental) 5th MD and that he joined on the 21.6.17 at Blackboy Hill, aged 18 years 10 months. His occupation is listed as a Dental Orderly, but other reports say that he served an apprenticeship as a carpenter. He was Presbyterian. Alexander is described as being 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a chest measurement of 33-35 inches, fresh complexion, grey eyes and light brown hair. The certifying doctor considered him not fit for active service and the record stated that he was discharged on enlisting for the AIF on the 25th October 1917. The discharge was cancelled, he was reinstated on 20th November 1917, then discharged on the same day. The national embarkation roll lists Pte Alexander Hammond Bracks, 62774 as embarking at Fremantle, on HMAT Boonah A36 with the 1 to 3 (WA) and (TAS) reinforcements May – October 1918, but there is no corresponding NAA record. His name is listed on the Scotch College Honour Board and was a later addition to Scots Church Roll of Honour.
In 1922, Alexander was awarded a bronze medal by the Royal Humane Society for a heroic act, when he was 17 and he jumped fully clothed into the harbour to save a girl who had been caught in the churning waters of a steamer propellor.
Alexander was also active in politics and was a member of the National Party. From 1934 to 1939 he was registered as a voter in the East Fremantle electorate. In 1935, he registered as a candidate for the Nationals in the South Fremantle by-election but was not elected. In 1936, he was a witness in a court case, where he is described as a foreman employed by Bunning Brothers. In 1938 he again presented his candidature, this time for the WA Legislative Council, but was unsuccessful. In 1943, he presented as the UAP candidate for Fremantle, against the Labor candidate, John Curtin, the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Again, Alexander was unsuccessful. A newspaper report from that year describes him as “frank, forthright, lacking all finesse” and “carries a Presbyterian echo of a stern Scots ancestry into a successful contracting business”.
By 1950, he had been elected to the Melville Road Board and was fighting for a more equitable system of rating unimproved land at a Royal Commission examining the Local Government Bill. He was re-elected to the board in 1958 and in 1965 was a member of the Metropolitan Valuation Appeals Court of WA, being reappointed in December 1966.
Alexander died in Bicton on 12.1.1974 aged 74 and was cremated. Alexander is memorialised at Fremantle Crematorium Niche Wall F position 0046. He left a widow, Grace Docherty Bracks.
NAA WW1 Service Records Barcode 6530413
The Register (Adelaide, SA : 1901 - 1929) Sat 8 Jul 1922 Page 10 ROYAL HUMANE SOCIETY.
The Labor Daily (Sydney, NSW : 1924 - 1938) Mon 6 May 1935 Page 1 BY ELECTIONS IN W.A.
News (Adelaide, SA : 1923 - 1954) Sat 16 Apr 1938 Page 8 W.A. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954) Sun 20 Jun 1943 Page 3
The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954) Wed 24 May 1950 Page 13 ROAD BOARD WITNESSES OPPOSE "BUREAUCRACY"
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