Alex was born in 1937 in Surabaia on the island of Java, Indonesia. The second world war brought Japanese occupation of the former Dutch East Indies and by 1942 his entire family was imprisoned in the infamous concentration camps of Grogol, Tjideng and others. After liberation in 1946, the surviving family members were reunited and repatriated to the Netherlands, only to return to Java in 1948.
In 1952 Alex returned to the North Sea town of Scheveningen near The Hague in Holland where upon finishing his education he found himself drafted into compulsory military service. On completion of his stint there, he attained further education and decided to emigrate to Canada. Arriving in Quebec city in 1959, he traveled on to Toronto, working there for six months. Not content, he moved to Cape Breton on Canada’s east coast, taking a job in Sydney. However, in late summer of 1960 Alex discovered Louisbourg. Attracted by its marine environment he decided to make his home there as the town offered him the perfect opportunity to pursue his interests in scuba diving, boating and recreational fishing.
The Federal Government resolved to reconstruct a large part of the historic Fortress of Louisbourg and Alex was hired in 1961 to participate in the fascinating enterprise. Becoming a Canadian citizen in 1964, he married Emily Lawrence that same year, in time raising five children here.
It was in 1960 that Alex first learned of the legendary French treasure ship called Le Chameau, rumored to have wrecked off Cape Breton Point in 1725. Determined to solve the mystery, his underwater searches eventually paid off with the discovery of this shipwreck, ensuing in the recovery of its valuable cargo in 1965. Further exploration off Cape Breton’s coast uncovered additional wreck sites such as the Feversham in 1968. (The Royal Canadian Mint issued a fine gold coin in 2006 depicting the type of money used by the early settlers of Canada. This coin also pays tribute to the Chameau and the Louisbourg diving team that found and salvaged it's treasure. The gold piece is listed as a 2006, $1 Fine Gold Coin or Gold Louis - Louis d’Or.)
Alex retired in 1997 after working at the “park” for 36 years. His first book "Canada's Treasure Hunt,” published in 1968 is no longer in print. Still living in the town which attracted him in 1960, he decided to tell the stories of his other adventures in "Seaweed and Gold.” Published in 2002, the book is enjoyed by readers far and wide thanks to the internet. Inspired by demand, a second expanded edition was published in 2011 containing newly uncovered material on the "Great Louisbourg Treasure of 1758" .
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