Alexander Knipe was born in Chong-Pa, Western China, on 3 August 1904, the son of William Lascelles Knipe, a pioneer missionary in China and Tibet, and Margaret Anderson Stephen. He was educated at St Michael's Preparatory School in Limpsfield, Surrey, and Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh. He then went on Edinburgh University, where he was awarded an athletics blue in 1924, and qualified in 1927. His subsequent junior appointments were held at Leith Hospital and Chalmers Hospital, Edinburgh, the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle and the Royal Salop Infirmary in Shrewsbury. In 1939 at the outbreak of war he joined the RAF Medical Branch with which he served until 1961, retiring with the rank of group captain. After training in Canada between 1941 and 1942 he served with the Air Sea Rescue Service from 1942 to 1944 and was mentioned in despatches. He then served with Casualty Air Evacuation until 1945, followed by attachments to RAF hospitals in Aden, Germany, and Nocton Hall in Lincoln, where he served as the officer-commanding surgical divisions. On retirement from the RAF he held a locum consultant surgical appointment at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh from 1961 to 1964. In 1965 he was appointed senior surgical specialist at Eshowe Provincial Hospital in Natal, South Africa, and he worked there until 1972. He married Pamela Mary Jassey in 1944, and they had one daughter. His interests outside surgery included athletics, rugby, golf and photography. It is not known exactly when he died, but this is thought to be around 1990 in Natal.