Newbury plaque to honour first man treated with penicillin

Newbury Town Council will unveil a new blue plaque later this month in honour of a local police officer who was the first person in the world to be treated with injected penicillin.

Police Constable Albert Alexander served with the Berkshire Constabulary in Newbury between 1926 and 1929.

He got married at St Mary's Church in Speenhamland, and is buried alongside his wife, Edith Mary Deacon, in Newtown Cemetery.

However, he was not originally a local man, having been born in Woodley.

Constable Alexander was stationed in Southampton through the Blitz, and was hospitalised with blood poisoning following an injury.

The nature of his injury is uncertain.

While it was traditionally believed that the officer had been cut by a rose thorn on his face, evidence has since emerged that Constable Alexander was the victim of an air raid.

Doctors arranged for his transfer to the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, where a decision was made to treat him with a revolutionary new antibiotic.

Penicillin had been discovered a decade earlier by Sir Alexander Fleming, who had already administered penicillin to a number of patients through their mouths.

However, Constable Alexander was the first person to have ever been injected with the antibiotic.

Penicillin was not a widely-available drug until after World War II, and was difficult to produce in effective quantities.

Following his treatment, the officer's condition temporarily improved.

Unfortunately, war-related limits on production meant that doctors eventually ran out of penicillin.

Constable Alexander relapsed, and died on March 15, 1941.

The plaque in his name will be located at Carnarvon Place, Andover Road, Newbury.

An unveiling ceremony will be held at 11am on May 25 and will be led by Mayor of Newbury, Billy Drummond.

Constable Alexander's daughter, Sheila LeBlanc married an American serviceman, and his granddaughter, Linda Williason, lives in California.

Hearing of the new plaque, Mrs Williason sent a message of thanks from across the Atlantic.

She said: "My mother is beyond thrilled to hear about this.

"Thank you all for everything you're doing to honour my grandfather.

"It's all truly appreciated.”

Nigel Foot (Lib Dems, West Fields), vice chair of the Heritage Working Group, said: "The Town Council is very grateful to the Friends of Newtown Road Cemetery who brought Albert's history to the attention of our Heritage Working Group and have provided all the background information to complete it.

"We also thank Sovereign Housing for kindly agreeing to the erection of the plaque, and the Newbury Society for their generous donation of £100 towards the cost."