8701: Alfred Stacey
Alfred was the contributor's grandfather. He was one of three brothers who went to war; he was one of two who survived.
Alfred was born 26/02/1894 and lived at Tendring House in Westonzoyland, Somerset. He was the son of Alfred (a bricklayer) and Eliza Stacey. Alfred followed his father's and grandfather's trade and became a bricklayer. In later life he was a Master Builder and during the Second World War was in the Civil Defence Service.
Alfred was a Private in the West Somerset Yeomanry, regiment number 855 (where he was made up to a L/Cpl). He also served as a Private in the Somerset Light Infantry, regiment number 295116. He served in the Balkans. He was awarded the Victory Medal along with his two other medals. His Victory Medal has since been lost.
The family still have a silk wall hanging of the West Somerset Yeomanry with a copy of his cap badge embroidered in silk along with the names of the places Alfred served during the war i.e. Gallipoli 1915 & Egypt 1916. Also amongst Alfred's possessions was an empty hand grenade which was found in his shed along with buttons and badges.
These were all passed down to Pete (the contributor) via his father. The Stacey family still live locally. Alfred and Charles erected a war memorial to the locals who served in the 1914-1918 war in the garden of a house that they built called 'The Nook'.
Alfred died in 1967 aged 72.
