Billy Key served with the 45th Rattray's Sikhs during the First World War, reaching the rank of captain by 1918.
11 Facts About Billy Key
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Billy Key was wounded in Mesopotamia in 1918 and received the Military Cross, the citation for which reads:.
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Billy Key was eventually wounded, but refused to undergo treatment until his company had been withdrawn to camp.
4.
Billy Key's son was killed in action in Italy during the Second World War.
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Billy Key was appointed temporary Deputy Military Secretary, India from 21 December 1939 to 17 August 1940.
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Billy Key's brigade were the first British troops to face the Japanese when they invaded Malaya in December 1941.
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When Major General David Murray-Lyon was dismissed from command of the 11th Indian Division, the 8th Indian Brigade's parent formation, Billy Key was promoted to the acting rank of major general and replaced Brigadier Archibald Paris as commander of the division.
8.
Billy Key spent the remainder of the war as a prisoner of war in Japan.
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On his release Billy Key became aide-de-camp to King George VI followed by district commands in India.
10.
Billy Key was promoted substantive major general on 20 January 1947, with seniority 2 April 1944.
11.
Billy Key retired in January 1949, and died in Sandwich, Kent, on 26 September 1986.