Alfred Walsh
Alfred Walsh is a Senior Ranger of the Saint's Crossing Ranger Corps
History
Early Life
Alfred grew up in Melbourne, Australia, to an Australian mother and an Irish father. He has a younger sister and a younger brother, who still live in Australia.
Alfred’s parents were rather hands-off with the kids as they grew up, resulting in them spending lots of time outside trying to find ways to be entertained. Alfred became interested in the wildlife they would see, and was always found watching or trying to feed some random animal.
One year, Alfred was given a pair of binoculars for his birthday so he could look at the more skittish animals he wasn’t ever able to get close to, and his interest in birdwatching and wildlife illustration was born. He would draw the animals he saw and give the drawings to his sister, who would put her favourites up on the walls of their bedroom.
After graduating high school, Alfred attended the University of Melbourne to study biology. He ended up graduating at the top of his class at 22. While in school, Alfred started his biggest project, a series of field guides to the wildlife of Australia. He spent the four years of university as well as the year after graduating studying the animals and recording his findings in his books. Unfortunately, he was unable to afford to get his books properly published, so only a few copies exist, all hand copies by Alfred, and given to his friends and the University of Melbourne library.
After finishing his books, Alfred was struggling to find work. He was temporarily back living with his parents, and was really feeling hopeless. He had a friend send him a letter letting him know of his success in America and encouraging him to make the move, and decided he would. He brought the original volumes of his books, his beloved concertina, and his trusty binoculars, and boarded the ship to America.
When he landed, Alfred found opportunities aplenty awaiting him. He worked as a horse trainer for a while due to his experience with animals, but eventually had to move. He followed a friend to another state where he was given an opportunity to work as an army medic for a hefty salary. He worked his way up the ranks and received enough training to eventually become a full-fledged and qualified doctor. After getting injured, he was discharged on good terms. After recovering, he ran the most successful general practice in the state and was well known for his medical knowledge. Unfortunately, human anatomy was not Alfred’s dream, he was more interested in the nature around him, and eventually gave up his practice to seek better opportunities elsewhere. He briefly worked with a wildlife observation group, doing ecological surveys across the continent, but quickly ran out of money to fund his adventures and had to leave.
Events in Saint's Crossing
Alfred moved to Saint’s Crossing after hearing of the great variety of ecosystems in the area to study. He decided The Crossing was the perfect place to begin his new project: The Field Guides to North American Wildlife. Since moving to The Crossing, Alfred has begun the first two volumes of the series, highlighting the birds in the region.
In February of 1902, Alfred was accepted into the Saint's Crossing Ranger Corps Recruit Program, where he donned the Grey Poncho and began his training as a Ranger. He was given his Green Poncho and promoted to Ranger by Senior Ranger Tibbit Mostokova on March 13th, 1902, at the treehouse in Northern Big Valley.
As a Ranger, Alfred took on projects such as creating a Field Guide to the Wildlife of Guarma and creating "Ranger Diaries" for Ranger Recruits to be given to help them keep track of their progress. He also assisted Tibbit on her project of mapping the regions of Saint's Crossing. He was promoted to Senior Ranger on April 22nd, 1902 by Head Ranger Buzz Buxton, Game Wardens Cat Carver and Deuce Patterson, and Senior Ranger Tibbit at "Tibbit Henge" in the Eastern Frontier.
Character
Profession
Alfred is a Senior Ranger for the Saint's Crossing Ranger Corps (SCRC).
Personality
Alfred Walsh is lawful by nature and fiercely loyal to his friends. He prefers peace and quiet over bustling chaos and is often found out in nature where he feels most at peace. He is generous and kind, and will always stop to help someone in need. He believes just about everyone deserves a second chance, and will advocate for the rehabilitation of criminals over letting them continue in their criminal cycle.
Appearance
Alfred is 5'10" and of medium build. He has blue eyes and medium brown hair, and he has a well kept moustache. He also wears round glasses to help with his severe nearsightedness, and is rarely seen without them. He speaks with an Australian accent. He is usually seen in shades of green and brown, and tends to dress fairly well. He wears an iconic cowboy hat with feathers pinned to one side, and his green Ranger poncho is embroidered with little birds. His hands show signs of old significant scarring, and he has random scarred-over scratches all over his body from dealing with dangerous wildlife.
Relationships
Alfred is close with most of the Ranger Corps, and sees them all as family. He is also friends with many deputies, and has a soft spot for his "Frontier Friends".
Trivia
- Alfred is a universal blood donor
- The feathers in Alfred's hat came from a leucistic pheasant he captured once, as well as a Red-Crested Malkoha given to him by Ranger Ethan Jones.
- Alfred's favourite animal is the Long-Eared Owl
- Alfred’s horse Seabhac’s name means “Hawk” in Irish
- Alfred had a beloved horse while he was an army medic named “Ace” who was a black and white Gypsy Cob. Unfortunately Ace died shortly before Alfred was released from service, due to injuries sustained while protecting Alfred. He has a soft spot for Cobs ever since, but hasn’t been able to bring himself to get another after losing Ace.
- Alfred used to play the concertina with his siblings in a little band, and brought this concertina with him to The Crossing. He also plays the button accordion.