Town of Ajax Street Dedication Brackenridge Street Thomas Brackenridge Stoker HMS Ajax 1940 to 1945 May 2008 Bill Brackenridge, son No Died at Battle: No 1917-1978 Street Name: Name of Veteran: Rank: Ship Served: Date of Service on Ship: Year of Visit/Dedication: Veteran or Family Visit: Veteran of the Battle of the River Plate: Thomas Brackenridge was born in 1917 in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland and lived there all his life until he passed away in 1978. Thomas was working in a Butcher Shop as an apprentice before he joined the Royal Navy. He joined HMS Ajax and served as a Stoker on board the ship. After the war, Thomas joined the Glasgow Corporation Housing and Works Department and was employed with the City Council through the remainder of his working life. He married Esther Cook in 1942 and they are survived by two sons, William and Matthew, four grandsons, two granddaughters and seven great grandchildren. The name Brackenridge is a Scottish name, mainly coming from the mid-Argyll area in the West of Scotland. The name is derived from the lands of Brackenrig in the old Barony of Avondale in Lanarkshire and there is mention of the name in documents dating back to 1454. The Brackenridge family was part of the Black Douglas clan with the motto "never behind".