Alec: The Father I Barely Knew
I never really knew my father. He died when I was eight. The news was devastating. Unbelievable. True to the spirit of the time, life carried on and I was back in school on Monday morning.
Shortly before my marriage and as I embarked on a new life in Africa, I discovered my father, Alec, had a life and a family I knew nothing about. Researching this story has taken me on a challenging journey into the life of a father who demonstrated both leadership and perseverance, but faced with a moral dilemma in his fifties, chose love over duty.
Please join me on this journey of discovery. Along the way, we will follow Alec’s career in the City, successfully floating a new insurance company, capitalising on the economic boom following WWI. Moving with his family to Worthing to become hoteliers marked the beginning of a new phase in his life, which initially went smoothly … until a young Aquarian woman crossed his path.
As Trevor Tutu writes in his Foreword: Malcolm speaks to and from the heart … join him in exploring the questions that shape our lives.
Malcolm Alexander was raised in North London, attending University College School in Hampstead. Holidays in rural Norfolk with his great-uncle Claude led to a degree in agriculture at Wye College, University of London. After marrying Hélène, they lived in a remote part of Uganda, where they supported school-leavers in planting tea, before spending three years in Malawi planning agricultural projects.
Returning to London as a qualified accountant, Malcolm took on senior management roles in the tea industry with Brooke Bond and in international drinks marketing, before establishing Interregna to provide management talent to fill gaps in organisations.
Over the last decade, Malcolm has devoted time to research and writing. His first biography, Ulendo: Claude’s African Journey into War and Passion, was published by Aldridge Press in 2018. Archbishop Tutu wrote, ‘On every page … is the sense of place, time, and emotion that can only come from a love of the continent and its people.’ When not at his desk, Malcolm plays tennis and is passionate about cricket.