Published in Windlesora 04 (1985)
© WLHG
Readers of Windlesora who have eagerly awaited further episodes in the aerial history of Windsor will be glad to know that Gordon Cullingham has written a full-scale biography of one of Windsor’s most remarkable, albeit forgotten, aeronauts: Patrick Young Alexander. The one regrettable feature is that it may not be generally available in local bookshops. It has been sponsored and published as a private limited edition by Cross Manufacturing Co. Ltd. of Bath who will be responsible for distribution. Copies have been deposited in Berkshire libraries. Further information may be obtained from the author or from Cross. Some readers might question the value of reviewing a book which may not be generally available, but it is nevertheless a definitive work and represents much painstaking research.
P.Y. Alexander (1867 – 1943) was a man of considerable wealth, a pioneer balloonist and meteorologist who was in touch with such men as the Wright brothers and Count von Zeppelin. His archives, which have served as the basis for this book, amount to 120 volumes and now form the core of the Science Museum’s aeronautical collection. Alexander’s Windsor connection stems from his work as a tutor in aeronautics at the United Services College which later became the Imperial Service College. He also sponsored all kinds of engineering and aeronautical research and put up several prizes. He died almost penniless and forgotten in 1943 at his home in St. Marks Road aged 76, still intent on following his passion to the end.
This is an attractive book, clearly printed, and is immensely readable, even to those who are not particularly aeronautically minded, (although there is a certain amount of technical detail). One of the great pleasures is the wealth of illustrations varying from line drawings, advertisements and cartoons to archive photographs. Windsorians will be especially interested in the series depicting the United Services College, which, though rather faint, are instantly recognisable.
P.Y. Alexander was an enthusiast, a man of genius who remained largely unrecognised during his lifetime. Thanks to the dedication and enthusiasm of Gordon Cullingham, together with the enterprise of Mr. Michael Cross, Alexander’s name will henceforth take its rightful place in the annals of the history of flight.
Printed by Cross Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (Bath) in Paperback (292 pp) at £7.50.
Windsor Local History Group 