Topic: Alexander Robinson

Alexander "Buck Alec" Robinson (born around 1901 in Belfast, Ireland - died 1995) was a boxer, loyalist paramilitary and Ulster Special Constabulary reservist. Robinson gained notoriety in Northern Ireland for streetfighting, robbery and for owning a pet lion. His contemporaries included James "Stormy" Wetherall and Patrick "Silver" McKee.

Born on York Street in the Sailortown area of Belfast around 1901, Robinson's early life in the docks was indicative of his future problems with the law. In 1913 at the age of twelve, he was arrested on a charge of larceny. In 1916 he was arrested three more times for the same offence. He was discharged on three out of four of these first offences, and received probation for the other. He served in the British Merchant Navy towards the end of World War I. On his return to Belfast his criminal career expanded, being charged with assault, riotous behaviour and robbery by 1921.

In October 1920 the British Government formed the Ulster Special Constabulary after calls from Unionists for protection. This was to reinforce the Royal Irish Constabulary who, along with the Black and Tans, were fighting the Irish Republican Army in the Irish War of Independence.