Alfred Holmes - Career

Career

In the 1950s, Holmes enlisted in the Gibraltar Regiment where he later ascended to the rank of sergeant. He was appointed Officer-in-Charge of the Apes.

From 1913 to 1991 the Gibraltar Barbary Macaques have been the responsibity of the British Army, which appointed a non-commissioned officer from the Gibraltar Regiment as Officer-in-Charge of the Apes. During his service, Sgt. Holmes fed nursed and guarded the monkeys, generally working to maintain their well-being. He knew all of the macaques by the names he himself had given them. They were mostly named after Governors, brigadiers and high-ranking officers as well as his children. Sgt. Holmes could communicate with the animals by means of eye signals and barely perceptible head movements which he would use to stop them from taking food offered to them by tourists. He would even take young orphaned monkeys to his wife to help rear at home. He would also take sick or injured monkeys to the Royal Naval Hospital where they would receive the exact medical treatment as an enlisted soldier. For his work with the macaques, he was best known locally by the nickname of "El de los monos" (Spanish: He of the monkeys).

Sgt. Holmes' time in the job made him an authority on this group of Barbary Macaques, with his knowledge being sought by various scientific studies on the monkeys from around the globe.