Magazine  (Dec 2021)  Page(s) 32. Vol 43, No. 4.  
 
Lynne Chapman and Billy West.  A Close Look at Tea Roses
By contrast, Alexander Hill Gray, 1911, has neither a sport, nor an early plate that we have been able to find. And there are none of the detailed botanical descriptions in journals that accompanied the early Teas. Descriptions are usually brief - ‘deep lemon yellow’ or ‘soft yellow, fragrant, double’ - which could apply to many, many roses but we are confident that Alexander Hill Gray is correctly named. It was a popular exhibition rose and grown under glass in cooler climates. Awarded the British National Rose Society’s gold medal soon after its release, it was still being recommended for exhibition purposes in Australia in the 1950s.

When an unnamed, thornless yellow rose was found in an Australian cemetery 30 years later, nurseryman Roy Rumsey was able to identify it as Alexander Hill Gray. Roy had a lot of experience with roses, firstly at the leading Australian rose nursery Hazlewoods when he was very young, then at Hilliers in England and later while training at Kew. Back in Australia he worked for his father for a while and then started a rose nursery with wife Heather. He had handled thousands of plants of the very popular Alexander Hill Gray throughout his career so was delighted to see it again and was able to introduce it back into commerce in Australia in the 1980s.

Magazine  (2021)  Page(s) 16. Vol 43, No. 2.  Includes photo(s).
 
Geoff Crowhurst,  Alexander Hill Gray.
Although I noted the rose Alexander Hill Gray in the Tea Ladies’ book, it was not a rose I had previously heard about, or seen growing, so soon passed it over. Then one day when wandering in the Melbourne General Cemetery, I came across the plant which Robert Peace had referred to the Rumseys for identification – probably about 1980. Introduced by Dickson in Ireland in 1911, * 'Alexander Hill Gray' reached Australia by 1912, and being a Tea would have had a much better chance of doing well here than back in the UK. So the old plant in the cemetery could be approaching 100 years old, having obviously survived for many years without any attention at all.....
Alexander Hill Gray' appears to have very healthy foliage, and as pictured in the Tea Ladies’ book, produces nice reddish new shoots. It is said to make a medium size, somewhat spreading bush. It would be worthy of more attention than it seems to get currently. A quick check of availability shows that only Ross Roses in South Australia has plants for sale, though I imagine it strikes easily enough from cuttings if they can be sourced......
Alexander Hill Gray was a wealthy Scottish laird (property owner) who moved south to Bath for the sole purpose of growing Tea roses there......
Ed: re-titled Yellow Maman Cochet or Yellow Cochet, by some nurseries - as were several other roses - for marketing purposes. In Bermuda it is known as “Soncy”.
 

Book  (2008)  Page(s) 78.  
 
'Alexander Hill Gray' was named after the wealthy Scottish landowner....
Flower size and shape: medium to large (8-10cm), very double (60-90 petals).....
No hip seen.   ..has few, if any prickles on the mature wood

Book  (2 Nov 2003)  Page(s) 20.  
 
Barbara May and Jane Zammit.  Rookwood Cemetery Roses.  
The following roses have been identified at Rookwood, primarily in the old and Heritage listed areas. Alexander Hill Gray.

Book  (2000)  Page(s) 71-72.  
 
‘Alexander Hill Gray’/’Yellow Maman Cochet’/’Yellow Cochet’ = Ancien – Thé – jaune intense, remontant. Très prisé lors de son introduction… Sa grande fleur à cœur turbinée, jaune foncé pâlissant au crème, est de forme parfaite et de très longue durée... Dickson, UK, 1911.

Book  (Dec 1998)  Page(s) 71.  
 
Alexander Hill Gray.  Old Tea.  Deep yellow.  Repeat flowering.  .....The large full, high-centered blooms of dark yellow fading to creamy-white have perfect form.   ....strong Tea fragrance .....   It is an erect plant with excellent light green foliage that is highly disease resistant.   ......  Dickson UK 1911.  Parentage unknown.

Book  (1997)  Page(s) 379.  
 
Alexander Hill Gray ('Yellow Maman Cochet', 'Yellow Cochet') Tea. Dickson (UK) 1911. Description... Large full flowers of bright yellow, deepening with age to tawny-yellow...

Book  (Apr 1993)  Page(s) 7.  
 
Alexander Hill Gray Tea, deep lemon-yellow, 1911, ('Yellow Maman Cochet'; 'Yellow COchet'); Dickson, A. Description.

Book  (Jun 1992)  Page(s) 42.  
 
Alexander Hill Gray ('Yellow Maman Cochet') Tea. A. Dickson, 1911. [Author cites information from different sources.]

Book  (1990)  Page(s) 43.  
 
Alexander Hill Grey.   Also known as Yellow Maman Cochet or Yellow Cochet.   Lemon-yellow double blooms of perfect shape.   Free flowering.    Fragrant.  Average.  Remontant.