The interview was conducted by Age Exchange in partnership with The University of Essex and The First World War Centre –University of Hertfordshire –as part of the Children of The Great War project. Brian Key came to share the story of 3 men important to him from his family. There were 2 Grandfathers and husband of a cousin of his father. Fascinatingly they fought in three different theatres of war. The husband of the cousin of his father was Sidney James Scarfe. He was born in 1897 and died in 1952. He had worked as a groom at Rettendon Hall. By the time of the war he was working at Hoffman’s Factory in Chelmsford. He served on the Western Front including The Battle of Messines Ridge where he was injured invalided out. He recorded a cassette tape lasing one hour, His injury came about in a dugout on Menin Road when a whizz bang came over. Some men were killed but Sidney had a shrapnel wound in the leg that caused him to be invalided out. After spending times in nursing homes he looked after Prisoners of War later and had correspondence with them. Brian’s paternal grandfather was Thomas Albert Key who joined 1915. He ended up in the Army Service Corps in Park Royal. At the end of war was sent to Russia to support white Russians. He was stationed in Archangel and Murmansk looking after Bolshevik prisoners during 1918-1919.They lived wooden Huts. Little known about it as a conflict and Brian has the feeling the soldiers were unsure why they were there. Illness and disease were the major dangers to life. Died 1951 George Huffey was his maternal grandfather. He was a master wheelwright and joined in Thaxted. He initially joined the Royal Garrison and was finally sent to East Africa. He worked repairing and making cartwheels. It was a mostly a guerrilla form of war with hit and run attacks rather than trench warfare. Again more men died of disease than conflict. He died in 1957. Brian brought along a cassette recording and transcription of the recording with Sidney Scarfe He also brought photographs from North Russia with a collection of postcards both personal and general. There were photographs of Sidney having just joined up and Thomas in Russia.

Western Front
Photograph
Sidney James Scarfe
Balkans
Thomas Albert Key
Thomas Albert Key & co. in Russia
Sidney James Scarfe on a ward