Alexander Lockhart Ogston

Captain Alexander Lockhart Ogston – Royal Marine Artillery

Early Life

Alexander Lockhart Ogston was born in June 1887 in Aberdeen, the son of Professor Sir Alexander Ogston and Margaret Isabella Matthews. He received a private education and later trained as an architect.

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, 23-year-old Alexander was living in London, boarding at Annie Orr’s Boarding House, 32 Brunswick Square, where his occupation was recorded as architect. Also residing there was his younger brother, Rannald Frederick Logie Ogston, aged 21, who was working as a stockbroker.

Marriage and Family

In October 1914, Alexander married Gertrude Conway Jones at Chelsea. Gertrude was the daughter of Mr. Conway Jones, of 29 Mirador Crescent, Swansea. Two years later, in 1916, their daughter Jean was born.

Military Service

Navy Lists

In November 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, Alexander was gazetted Second Lieutenant with the Royal Marine Artillery (RMA), having enlisted for active service.

The Royal Marine Artillery was established in 1804 as a distinct branch of the Royal Marines, created to man naval artillery after a ruling that Army officers could not serve under Naval command. The RMA’s uniforms were navy blue, similar to those of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, reflecting their shared expertise in gunnery and coastal defence.

During the war, Alexander rose to the rank of Captain and was posted to St. Helena, where he served for the remainder of the conflict.

Death

UK, British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records

Cambrian Daily Leader

After the war, while returning home to Swansea, Alexander contracted pneumonia, which developed into influenza—one of the many lives claimed by the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic. He died on the 8^th of February 1919.

His death was reported in the Cambrian Daily Leader on 13 February 1919, in an article titled “Son of King’s Surgeon.” The report noted that his funeral was strictly private and listed those who attended.

Burial

Alexander Lockhart Ogston
Oystermouth Cemetery

Captain Alexander Lockhart Ogston was laid to rest in Oystermouth Cemetery, Swansea, where his headstone remains a lasting tribute to his service.

The Ogston Family and Professor Sir Alexander Ogston

Sir Alexander Ogston

Alexander came from a distinguished Aberdeen family renowned for its contributions to medicine and public life. His father, Professor Sir Alexander Ogston, was one of Scotland’s most celebrated surgeons and medical researchers.

Born in 1844 in Aberdeen, Sir Alexander was the son of Professor Francis Ogston and Amelia Cadenhead. He began his medical studies at Marischal College, Aberdeen, graduating with a Bachelor of Medicine and Master of Surgery in 1862, and obtained his Doctor of Medicine (MD) in 1866. His academic excellence led to his appointment as Regius Professor of Surgery at the University of Aberdeen in 1882.

Sir Alexander achieved international recognition for his discovery of Staphylococcus in a small laboratory at his home, 252 Union Street, Aberdeen. This genus of bacteria—now known as one of the major causes of wound and hospital infections—was a revolutionary finding in medical microbiology and remains central to the study of infectious disease to this day.

In 1892, Queen Victoria appointed him Surgeon in Ordinary, a position he continued to hold under Kings Edward VII and George V.

Sir Alexander also had a distinguished record of military service. He served in the Egyptian Campaign and the Boer War, and in 1898 played a pivotal role in the formation of the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC). Despite being 70 years old, he volunteered during the First World War, assisting with the treatment and management of severe battlefield trauma.

He died in February 1929, having left an indelible mark on both medical science and military medicine.

Sir Alexander was married twice. His first marriage to Mary Jane Molly Hargrave produced three children before her death in 1873. He later married Isabella Margaret Matthews, with whom he had five children, including Alexander Lockhart Ogston.

Helen Charlotte Elizabeth Ogston

Among his daughters was Helen Charlotte Elizabeth Ogston, a noted suffragette who made headlines for her protest at David Lloyd George’s meeting at the Royal Albert Hall on 5^th December 1908, during which she famously defended herself with a dog whip while being removed by stewards—a vivid moment in the history of the women’s suffrage movement.

Legacy

Captain Alexander Lockhart Ogston followed in the distinguished footsteps of his father, combining professional accomplishment with public service. A skilled architect who answered the call to arms, he represents a generation of men whose personal ambitions were set aside in the service of their country.

His grave at Oystermouth Cemetery stands not only as a tribute to his own life and sacrifice but also as part of a remarkable family legacy that spans medicine, science, and social progress. Through the contributions of both father and son, the Ogston name endures as a symbol of intellect, service, and dedication.