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S. W. Alexander

English journalist and political activist

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMar 6, 2025
Entity authorityQ7387973
Source-derived summary

Stanley Walter "S. W." Alexander (16 November 1895 – 23 March 1980) was a British journalist and political activist.

Early life

During the First World War, Alexander served as a Sergeant Major in the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, as he was unable to join the British forces as his height was only 5'1". He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1918 (investiture 15 November 1919), and in 1919 married Doris Emily Kibble, whom he had met in the offices of Lord Beaverbrook. They had two sons, Andrew and Colin.

Journalism and politics

He was a journalist for the Beaverbrook press, being City Editor of the Sunday Express, Daily Express and Evening Standard. From 1948 he was editor of the City Press newspaper. He was instrumental in founding the Society for Individual Freedom and Oliver Smedley described himself and Alexander as "the only active free-traders left in England in the 1950s". He debated at the Cambridge Union with Lord Longford over the Beveridge Report in January 1943. He stood in the 1945 general election as an Independent Free Trade candidate (coming fourth) for City of London. He stood in the 1950 general election for the Liberal Party (coming third) for Ilford North.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “S. W. Alexander” as english journalist and political activist. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Alexander, English and journalist.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1895, 1980, 1918, 1919—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1895-11-16. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Alexander, English and journalist providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “S. W. Alexander”, the useful work is to connect “english journalist and political activist” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 6, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q7387973. VIAF identifies the subject as 91229314. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1895, 1980, 1918 and 1919.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “S. W. Alexander”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow S. W. Alexander primary sources, S. W. Alexander archive and Alexander research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “S. W. Alexander”?
  2. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from S. W. Alexander” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.