Alexander George Fraser Macdonald (August 23, 1863 - June 24, 1948) was a Canadian soldier and publisher who commanded the 154th Battalion, CEF during the First World War. He was also a good friend of Sir Sam Hughes.
Early life
Alexander George Fraser Macdonald was born on August 23, 1863, in Alexandria, Glengarry County, to Donald Alexander Macdonald and Catherine Grant Fraser. His father served as the 4th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1875 to 1880. His mother was the daughter of Colonel Alexander Fraser, a politician and militiaman from Glengarry County.
In 1875, Macdonald began studying at Upper Canada College and in 1880 he attended Loyola College. Upon graduation he lived in Montreal, marrying Eugenie Hubert (1865–1934) in 1890. Her father, Richard Hubert, had fought as a rebel at the Battle of Saint-Denis during the Lower Canada Rebellion. Alexander and Eugenie moved to Alexandria in 1890, settling at the manor house of the Macdonalds: Garry Fen.
In 1892, while living in Alexandria, Macdonald became the editor and publisher of a local newspaper, The Glengarry News. The newspaper has been continuously published since 1892 and is one of the prominent local papers.
Family
Alexander and Eugenie Macdonald had eleven children: Donald Macdonald, K.C., K.G. (1891–) George Fraser Macdonald (1894–1916), who served as a Lieutenant with the 50th Battalion (Calgary), CEF and was killed in action at the Battle of the Ancre Marie Hermine Marguerite Macdonald (1895–1920) Hubert Sandfield Macdonald (1899–1981), who served as a Lance Corporal under his father in the 154th Battalion, CEF Marie Beatrice Macdonald (1900–1979) Katherine Ida Mary Macdonald (1901–1935) Ian Bruce Francis Macdonald (1903–1944), who served as a Sergeant in the S.,D.& G., Highlanders and Medical Corps during the Second World War and died of a brain tumor in England Mary Louise Hilda Macdonald (1904–1971) Ronald Eugene Robert Macdonald (1906–1989) John Sandfield Macdonald (1910–1941) Eugene Alexander Macdonald (1911–1988)
Military career
Early service
Following in the footsteps of his father, uncle, and grandfather who had all been officers in the Glengarry Militia, Macdonald joined the local 59th Stormont and Glengarry Regiment as a Second Lieutenant in No.3 Company on May 14, 1897. In 1898, he attended the School of Infantry in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu in order to be appointed Lieutenant and on June 21 he commanded No.3 Company of the 59th at the military camp at Kingston. On September 13, 1898, Macdonald was promoted to captain in command of No.3 Company.
Boer War
With the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899 and the departure of soldiers from Canadian garrisons to South Africa, a new militia battalion was raised to serve guard duty in Halifax. This battalion was titled the 3rd (Special Service) Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry and served in the garrison at the Halifax citadel and Wellington Barracks. On March 16, 1900, Macdonald was appointed a captain in command of B Company, 3rd (Special Service) Battalion and proceeded to Halifax. He served in the garrison at Halifax until early 1901 when he returned to Glengarry. He attended the military camps with No.3 Company at Kingston in 1901 and Niagara in 1902, before being promoted to Major. In 1905 he commanded the company at the Rockliffe Camp in Ottawa and in April 1910 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and appointed to command of the 59th Regiment.
With the appointment of his friend, Sir Sam Hughes, as the Minister of Militia and Defence in 1911, Macdonald lobbied for a new armoury to be built in Alexandria for the use of the 59th Regiment. There was not enough funds to construct an armoury however and the 59th continued to drill at Garry Fen that year. In 1913, Macdonald and Hughes attended military training demonstrations in Britain and later that year Hughes visited Alexandria where he was greeted by the pipes and drums of the 59th and escorted from the railway station to Mill Square where he inspected a guard of honour before dining with the Officers at Garry Fen. At a concert that evening the Minister thanked Macdonald and thanked the town for the donation of land to build an Armoury and confirmed that Alexandria and the 59th Regiment would indeed get their Armoury. The Armoury was functional by the outbreak of war in August 1914 and officially opened with a grand ball in October of that year. The cost of the armoury was $18,896.15.