Great War Stories 4 - Rizk Alexander

Rizk Alexander found himself in a rare situation during WWI  — he was an Ottoman subject who chose to fight for the British Empire. His brief life still holds a fascination for his descendants. From a Syrian Christian family, Alexander had only been in New Zealand three years, when the 17-year-old signed up for war. Hoping to fight the Turkish Ottomans, he instead ended up on the Western Front, proving himself at the Battle of Messines in 1917. Later gassed, Alexander returned to Wellington to recuperate but he never fully recovered, dying in 1924. He was 27.

He was, as far as we know, the only Turkish subject in the New Zealand forces and possibly the entire British Empire forces.

– Peter McIvor, great-nephew of Rizk Alexander

Key Cast & Crew

Mike McRoberts

Narrator

Peter Metcalf

Editor

Anna Cottrell

Director, Producer, Writer

Matt Henley

Camera Operator

Richard Sutherland

Executive Producer

Amanda Evans

Composer