Thomas Cecil Alexander
Reverend Thomas Cecil Alexander (5 February 1884 – 4 August 1968) was an Anglican priest and missionary in British Malaya, the founder of the Scouting movement in what is now the Malaysian state of Sabah.
Thomas Cecil Alexander | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 5 February 1884 Watton, Norfolk, England |
| Died | 4 August 1968 (aged 84) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Priest |
| Known for | Scouting |
Alexander was born in Watton in Norfolk, where his father was a doctor. After graduating from university, he was ordained in Norwich in 1909 and was a curate in Methwold.[1]
In 1912 he joined the Anglican mission at St. Thomas' Cathedral in Kuching, in Sarawak, where he was assistant to the Bishop, Rupert Mounsey.[1] In 1913 he became the priest in charge at Sandakan, then the capital of British North Borneo, where he worked particularly among the Chinese[2] and introduced Scouting.[1][3][4] He is also sometimes credited with introducing Scouting in Sarawak.[1][5]
He retired in 1955 and lived at Cromer; he died at 84 in 1968.[1]
He was awarded the Medal of Merit by the Boy Scouts Association.[1] The North Borneo Scout Movement Monument, unveiled on 28 September 2013 at St. Michael's Secondary School in Sandakan, commemorates the centenary of his introduction of Scouting there in 1913.
References
- "Pontianak-Kuching scout movement awards 51 pioneer members", Borneo Post, 18 October 2016, retrieved 1 December 2022.
- Edward Jarvis, The Anglican Church in Malaysia: Evolving Concepts, Challenging Contexts, Emerging Subtexts, Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022, ISBN 9783031115967, p. 63.
- "History of Scouting in Sabah", Persekutuan Pengakap Malaysia Cawangan Sabah, 1997, archived from the original on 3 March 2019.
- Oleh Norhayati Ayob, "Mengimbau Sedetik Kenangan Bersama Simon C. Yew", in: Ismail Ibrahim, ed., Menongkah Arus: Pelukis veteran Sabah: kumpulan esei, Kuala Lumpur: Institut Terjemahan & Buku Malaysia Berhad, 2013, ISBN 9789674301309, p. 69 (in Malay).
- According to Malaysia at Random, Singapore / Kuala Lumpur: Didier Millet, 2009, ISBN 9789814217958, p. 154, in 1915.