Blue Plaque unveiled for William Alexander with a speech by the Granddaughter

William Whiteway Alexander known as WW or Alec was born in 1852 near Andover, the seventh of eight children of James and Charlotte.

By the time WW was three his mother had died and James took the children to the Isle of Wight, where at the age of 12 his father remarried and he gained five half-siblings, he did not get on with his stepmother, she was an ill-tempered woman, and he ran away as a teenager to work with horses, once on the mainland he ended up in Brewood in Staffordshire age 17 and in 1871 was working for a clergyman.

He started competing in races while in Brewood and soon got his name in the results lists and in 1874 he joined the postal service, continuing to race but now for the Civil Service.

WW married Mary Hancock in 1877, and between 1878 and 1893 they had 8 children, Alberta, Will, Olly, Edith, Syd, Lily, Violet and John and by 1881 two of WW’s half-brothers, George Henry (known as GH) and Arthur had also come to live with the family, they both joined the Postal Service.

WW raced for Birchfield Harriers in the Midland Cross Country Championships, coming in fourth after apparently, he had, covered his postal round in the morning and stood up in a brake all the way to Sutton.

He became a handicapper, lap scorer, starter and/or judge at hundreds of events all over the country. WW left the Post Office to start a business on his own account – as a tobacconist and emigration agent – he had a shop on Witton Road, Aston, a kiosk at the top of Albert Street Birmingham, and a tobacconist in Dale Road, where the Birchfield Club Room was over the shop.

He became a Midlands handicapper for the National Cyclists Union, race events commonly included both running and cycling races, using the same track.

In 1889 WW was declared bankrupt, he used his own money to keep Birchfield afloat on more than one occasion, and it is thought he twice sold his home in connection with the club’s liabilities.

He’d become a beer retailer with records of him at at least four different establishments. Newspaper reports about the bankruptcy show that the judge partially exonerated him, acknowledging that others had shirked their responsibilities. His half-brother George Henry, who owned a successful engineering business had also supported the club financially for many years.

In 1890 the family bought and moved to the Fox and Goose in Redditch, where WW quickly became the treasurer for the local football club and was involved in the local cycling club in addition to his work with Birchfield and travelling most weekends with his handicapping and timekeeping WW regularly talent spotted and encouraged athletes to come to Birmingham, putting them up at his pubs until they had found their feet He gave up being a publican and rejoined the Postal Service in 1906 moving to Gooch Street as a postmaster.

In 1913 WW wrote to his daughter Lily explaining how excited he was to have been invited to both handicap and start an air race between Gustave Hamel and Bentfield Hicks. The race started at the Tally Ho ground, flying anti-clockwise, and landed at points around the West Midlands ending back where it started, 75 miles in total. Hamel won the race by 20 secs in front of Hicks.

Newspapers reported great excitement and huge crowds. In his letter to Lily after the race he wrote, we had a great day yesterday with everything going off so well, it will make history in my Sporting Career, he was very excited about the possibility of future events that he could be an official at. Little did he know the 1st World War would put paid to that.

In 1914 WW’s wife Mary died and he remarried in 1917 to Frances Cartwright and between 1921 and 1930 they had three children, Jimmy, Jean, and Pat.

WW resigned as a handicapper in 1921 as he felt that handicapping had had its day and inter-club competitions were the way ahead.

He was one of three men that gave evidence to the British Olympic Games Committee as to how to improve future teams’ chances at success, recommending more cinder tracks for training, a chief coach and team manager and three or four months special preparation before competing WW was described as the top, bottom and sides of Birchfield Harriers, full of enthusiasm for any trip that
had a race at the end of it. He was well known to walk his athletes around the cinder tracks prior to racing, pointing out all the undulations with his cane. He did this well into his late seventies. A lot of the athletes found it hard to keep up!

To celebrate the Club’s Jubilee, funds were raised to construct the Alexander Athletics Ground, and Harold Abrahams the Olympic Champion was the main guest at the Clubs Jubilee Dinner. The Alexander Sports Ground was opened in July 1929 and it was reported a crowd of 10,000 watched the running and cycle races that first day.

Many of WW’s family were involved in Birchfield, becoming handicappers, coaches, assistant secretary, treasurer, athletes. Presidents, officials at races, Trustees and Patrons. Jimmy, Jean and Pat recall how all family members, regardless of age, were involved with Birchfield, from sweeping floors, raking the sand pits, serving teas, to entertaining at the clubs annual dinners. Gooch Street was full of life, it was open house any time day or night, and no matter who you were you were always greeted warmly with a cup of tea, something to eat and somewhere to sleep.

WW was also a great entertainer and had a love of the theatre, Jean recalled that when their father took them to the theatre, once settled in their seats he would remove his hat, place it on his lap then place a handkerchief on top of his head. No one knows why he did this but presume it was to keep the top of his head warm.

WW was a devoted husband, a loving father, a man with so much energy and a true hero to the world of athletics. He was a small man with a walrus moustache and steel rimmed glasses, wearing a bowler hat in all photographs he was a very distinctive character and instantly recognisable.

He died on October 6th 1933 after attending his last committee meeting just six days before and then catching a chill at the Manchester – Blackpool road relay. The great little man of athletics was buried at Aston Parish Church.

Nothing was ever too much trouble for WW to help someone else, a varied and eventful career, full of good deeds. He served his Club so well but found time to assist in the governing of sport, he was much sought after and was ever ready to help with the sport he loved and believed in for some sixty years.

He practised what he preached when advising anyone “that if they wished to keep young they must mingle with the young” for if Mr Alexander was old in years he was young in spirit, summed up by the Coventry Evening Telegraph who described WW as the Peter Pan of Athletics.

WW Alexander by no means marks the end of the Birchfield Harriers Club or of the wonderful spirit always prevailing amongst the members, it was a matter of grim determination that as one man they should go on into the future to do better and better. And

One of WW’s legacies, Birchfield Harriers Athletic Club today is known and respected all around the world and is known as the athletics club of Birmingham city and its people, with its home at the Birmingham Alexander Stadium – the club “of the people, for the people” where everyone is equal on the sporting field.

Finally, the Alexander family would like to thank the Birmingham Civic Society for honouring their relative WW or Alec with a Blue Plaque.