Alfred Key as a young seaman. Photo by Helen Steel
Alfred Thomas Key 1892-1916
Alfred was Mrs Helen Steel’s nee Key, Grand Uncle and provides the following information:
“My maiden name is Key. Alfred Thomas Key was my late father’s first cousin; his father Alfred Alexander was the eldest brother of my grandfather Albert Key. I had managed to find out with some sadness the story of Alfred’s short naval career through research; I have found out also that his sister (also named Helen) had a daughter named Freda (Alfred’s only niece) although I don’t know if she is still alive as she will be in her 80’s now. Alfred’s brother George died in 1994 aged 94, having never married. My father was born in 1917, the year after Alfred drowned, and as dad was named James Alfred I’m presuming it was in memory of his cousin although I will never know this now. I have seen on a website the site where Alfred was buried in Limnos and just hope that one day I would be able to represent the family and visit his grave one day as I’m sure his parents would not have been able to back then.
Alfred joined the Royal Navy and was serving on HMS Rowan and died in the Aegean Sea when he and another sailor were drowned on 1st April 1916. He had already survived an explosion whilst serving on HMS Natal, when many servicemen lost their lives.Here are two newspaper reports on the Alfred’s survival from HMS Natal:
The Reading Standard, January 8th 1916. Wokingham Survivor of H.M.S. Natal Disaster ‘We congratulate Mr and Mrs Key of 20 Rose Street upon the safety of their son Mr A.T. Key, who was Stewards’ Assistant on board the ill-fated Natal at the time of the explosion and whose name appears on the list of survivors. Another Wokingham man, T. Avis, believed to be on the same vessel, is not mentioned on either the list of survivors or victims’.
Reading Observer, January 2nd 1916. Mr A.T. Key of Rose Street, Wokingham, Ship’s Steward Assistant, saved from H.M.S. Natal. He was in the water about half an hour after the explosion and has been suffering slightly from shock
Our thanks to www.hmsnatal.co.uk for the above newspaper reports.
Rank: Ship’s Steward Assistant
Service No: M/12463
Date of Death: 01/04/1916
Age: 23
Regiment/Service: Royal Navy. H.M.S. “Rowan”
Grave Reference III. C. 340.
Cemetery PORTIANOS MILITARY CEMETERY. The hamlet of Portianos is on the west side of Mudros Bay, on the Greek island of Limnos in the north-east Aegean Sea. The cemetery is on the outskirts on the village, on Anzac Street, adjacent to the communal cemetery.
Historical Information. Because of its position, the island of Lemnos played an important part in the campaigns against Turkey during the First World War. It was occupied by a force of marines on 23 February 1915 in preparation for the military attack on Gallipoli, and Mudros became a considerable Allied camp. The 1st and 3rd Canadian Stationary
Photo from Helen Steel (nee Key)
Hospitals, the 3rd Australian General Hospital and other medical units were stationed on both sides of Mudros bay and a considerable Egyptian Labour Corps detachment was employed. After the evacuation of Gallipoli, a garrison remained on the island and the 1st Royal Naval Brigade was on Lemnos, Imbros and Tenedos for the first few months of 1916. On 30 October 1918, the Armistice between the Entente Powers and Turkey was signed at Mudros.
Portianos Military Cemetery was begun in August 1915 and used until August 1920. The cemetery now contains 347 Commonwealth burial of the First World War and five war graves of other nationalities.
Additional Information: Son of Alfred and Mary Key, of 20, Rose St., Wokingham, Berks.
Alfred Key Memorial. Photo by Robert Pike
Rowan, armed boarding steamer, both drowned in Greece
CHALK, Alexander, Seaman, Newfoundland RNR, X 545
KEY, Alfred T, Ship’s Steward’s Assistant, M 12463 (Ch)
20 Rose Street, Wokingham, Berkshire
[iframe_loader width=”625″ height=”550″ frameborder = “1” longdesc=’ ‘marginheight=’0′ marginwidth=’0′ name=’ ‘click_words=’ ‘click_url=’ scrolling=’yes’ src=’http://wokinghamremembersco.ipage.com/Family trees/Key Alfred’]More from Helen, who visited Alfred’s grave in Limnos, 2014:
Helen visited Alfred’s grave in Limnos, Greece in 2014
“I’ve attached photos of Alfred’s grave at Limnos when we visited last May, as you can see I left his photo there although I don’t suppose it will still be there now! We did visit Wokingham once a few years ago when I wanted to find 20 Rose Street where Alfred and his family lived. Incidently, Alfreds’ mother Mary had the maiden name Yalden, I believe from my research some years ago her brother and his family also lived in Rose Street, the Yalden family originally came from Eversley, Hants or thereabouts. I don’t have any other information on this at the present but I thought I saw a Yalden on your war records, may there be some connection, I wonder?”
2 Responses to Key, Alfred 1916