The 10th Battalion Manchester Regiment/R.N.A.S/R.A.
Royal Flying Corps 225982
Alfred was the son of John Kelty (Kielty) and Mary Lee of Oldham. He enlisted in the territorial army in July of 1909 aged 17 years old and underwent training over the next four years whilst living at home and working at an apprenticeship.
Wartime
Alfred was posted overseas with his regiment, arriving in Egypt on the 25th of September 1914. The 10th Battalion spent time in Cairo and assisted with defending the Suez Canal.
Alfred left his regiment in 1916 to attach with the Royal Naval Air Reserve as an apprentice engineer. He was engaged in hostilities in the Red Sea and played an active part in the Dardanelles Campaign.
Peacetime
1919
Alfred was re-classed to Sergeant on the 1st of January 1919. Three months later in April he was transferred to the RAF Reserves.
Post war, Alfred spent time in India working as an electrical engineer before coming back to England to commence his study of engineering at Jesus College in Oxford which was funded by a special grant from the government. In the spring of 1923, Alfred travelled 2nd Class from Calcutta to London, his destination being the Engineer’s club located on Coventry Street.