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Name: ALEXANDER, Douglas
Photo Source: David Law-Smith
Death Date: died of blackwater fever
First Date: 1909
Profession: At one time the proprietor of Tudor House Hotel, Mombasa, in the 20s he managed Naivasha Hotel, next to the Railway Station, and later he managed a hotel in Eldoret
Area: 1914 Njoro, Londiani, Mombasa, Naivasha, Eldoret, KAD 1922 - Naivasha Hotel
Married: In Mombasa 1913 Gertrude Colclough b. 24.9.1894 Wolstanton, Staffordshire, d. Mar qtr. 1980 Harborne, Birmingham
Children: Reginald (14 Nov 1914 Nairobi-31 March 1990 meningitis, Nairobi); Patricia (Law-Smith and Stan Smith and Moor) (b. Rift Valley, d. Harborne, England)
Book Reference: Gillett, Manual, KAD, Red 25, Hut, Red 22, Gazette, Naivasha, Leader14, Red Book 1912
General Information:
Red Book 1919 - D. Alexander - Kedowa Saw Mills, Londiani
Red 25 - Proprietor, Naivasha Hotel, Naivasha
Hut - D. Alexander 1919 Kedowa Sawmills
Red 22 - D. Alexander, Tudor House, Mombasa
Gazette - 7/4/15 - Liable for Jury service, Ravine - D. Alexander, Londiani
Naivasha - Another hotel on the opposite side of the railway from the Bell Inn was owned by the parents of R.S. Alexander and in 1923 the waters of the lake rose so high that they washed against the verandah steps; however the lake receded before damage was done. This building was later taken over as a PNEU School run by Mrs Albrechtsen, and finally finished as a school for Indian children.
Red Book 1912 - D. Alexander- Lumbwa
Manual - 1927 - Lake Naivasha Hotel well managed by Mr & Mrs Alexander.
Gazette - 30/5/1923 - Application for General Retail and Hotel Liquor Licence - Douglas Alexander, New Naivasha Hotel, Naivasha
Gazette - 12/7/1922 - Application for General Retail & Hotel Liquor Licence - D. Alexander, Manager, Rift Valley Hotel, Naivasha
EA Manual 1927 - Advert - The Naivasha Hotel - Proprietors - Mr & Mrs G. Alexander
Gertrude Alexander set up the kitchens in Nyeri Primary School in the 1950s.
David Law-Smith (grandson) Douglas Alexander was a Scotsman who moved to the English Midlands when he was a young man. When in England he was apparently known as an accomplished sportsman, particularly golf, and may have been involved in politics. He met my grandmother in Stoke on Trent. It was politics and an interest in the British Empire that had him find his way to Kenya by ship in the early 1900s. On arrival in Mombasa he went up country to the forest on the other side of the Great Rift Valley. He married his wife in 1913 and they've travelled to the timber saw mills He invested in some hotels in Mombasa, Nakuru and Naivasha, where his wife and son Reggie lived. He died of blackwater fever, leaving his wife with two hotels and two young children. His wife had to part with the interest in the hotels to pay his debts.
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