Alex Russell MC (4 June 1892 – 22 November 1961) was an Australian grazier, soldier, golfer and

golf course architect A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". T ...

. Russell was born at

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

to grazier Philip Russell and Mary Gray, ''née'' Guthrie. He was sent to

Glenalmond College Glenalmond College is a co-educational independent boarding school in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, for children aged between 12 and 18 years. It is situated on the River Almond near the village of Methven, about west of the city of Perth. T ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

for his early schooling before returning to Australia, where he attended

Geelong Grammar School Geelong Grammar School is a private Anglican co-educational boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located in Corio on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay. Establ ...

, from which he graduated in 1911 having won distinction in both academic and sporting pursuits. He travelled to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1912 to study engineering at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. He married Jess Lucy Fairbairn, daughter of Frederick Fairbairn, on 14 September 1917 at Chelsea. Commissioned in the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Artillery, Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse ...

on 9 October 1914, Russell served on the Western Front during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, where he was twice wounded, won the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

, and in 1918 was promoted acting

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. After the war he and his wife returned to Australia and lived at

Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places Australia * Sandringham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Sandringham, Queensland, a rural locality * Sandringham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station * ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, close to the

Royal Melbourne Golf Club Royal Melbourne Golf Club is a 36-hole Golf Club (establishment), golf club in Australia, located in Black Rock, Victoria, Black Rock, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, a suburb in southeastern Melbourne. Its West and East courses are respectivel ...

. Both Russells became enthusiastic amateur players; Alex won the Riversdale Cup in 1929 and 1931, the

Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...

in 1924, the Australian foursomes of 1924 and 1926, and the South Australian Amateur and Victorian Amateur Championship in 1925, while Jess won the national ladies' foursomes in 1926 and 1927 and was runner-up in the 1927, 1930 and 1932 Australian Women's Amateur championships. Russell helped to design the Black Rock west golf course (opened 1931) and supervised its construction; he also designed the eastern course, as well as courses at Karrinyup in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Yarra Yarra in Melbourne, and Paraparaumu Beach, near

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. He was briefly private secretary to

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Stanley Bruce Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne (15 April 1883 – 25 August 1967) was an Australian politician, statesman and businessman who served as the eighth prime minister of Australia from 1923 to 1929. He held office as ...

in the early 1920s. Russell and his wife moved in 1932 to Mawallok, his father's sheep station near Beaufort, and won prizes for his

merino sheep The Merino is a list of sheep breeds, breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monop ...

; he would be President of the Australian Sheepbreeders' Association from 1950 to 1951. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Russell was deputy commissioner of the

Australian Red Cross Australian Red Cross, formally Australian Red Cross Society, is a humanitarian aid and community services charity in Australia. Tracing its history back to 1914 and being incorporated by royal charter in 1941, Australian Red Cross Society is ...

(1941–42) before becoming chief commissioner of the field force (1943–46), serving the Australian Imperial Force as a camp commandant in the intervening period.

Mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

, he was transferred to the Reserve of Officers in October 1943 as a lieutenant colonel. He was appointed a knight of grace of the

Order of St John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...

in 1948 and continued his involvement with the Royal Melbourne Golf Club, serving as a councillor (1929–55). He retired to

South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a populati ...

, and died on 22 November 1961 at

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

hypertensive heart disease Hypertensive heart disease includes a number of complications of high blood pressure that affect the heart. While there are several definitions of hypertensive heart disease in the medical literature, the term is most widely used in the context of ...

; he was cremated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Alex Australian soldiers Australian male golfers Golf course architects Knights of Grace of the Order of St John Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Garrison Artillery officers People educated at Glenalmond College People educated at Geelong Grammar School Sportspeople from Geelong Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Australian recipients of the Military Cross Military personnel from Victoria (state) People from Sandringham, Victoria Sportsmen from Victoria (state) Australian military personnel of World War I 1892 births 1961 deaths 20th-century Australian farmers 20th-century Australian sportsmen Australian pastoralists Farmers from Victoria (state) Sportspeople awarded knighthoods