Alex Henry Cherry was born on June 11, 1905. He was thirty-eight-years old when he left his life as an extremely successful Wall Street investment banker behind and joined the British Royal Navy. Cherry arrived in Britain in 1941 and trained at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich before obtaining his commission. Commander Cherry served on a number of vessels throughout the war and was involved in many key engagements including the Invasion of Normandy. He eventually became British Naval Liaison Officer in Bremen during the Occupation after the war.

In 1951, Cherry wrote Yankee R.N., a book about his experiences in the Royal Navy. According to the U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 he died in March 1987. But, according to a book "Passport Not Required: U.S. Volunteers in the Royal Navy, 1939 and 1941" which chronicles the history of the twenty-two Americans that joined the Royal Navy and follows the men throughout their different theaters of operations, he died on April 2, 1987 in Florida.

Source of information: http://navalwarcollegemuseum.blogspot.com, https://www.goodreads.com, https://www.unithistories.com