LEST WE FORGET
Flight Lieutenant Graeme Connell KEYS DFC
Service No: 401459
Born: Balaclava VIC, 25 May 1912
Enlisted in the RAAF: 3 February 1941
Unit: No. 139 Squadron (RAF), RAF Station Upwood
Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), 9 July 1943
Died: Air Operations (No. 139 Squadron Mosquito aircraft DZ646), Lincolnshire, 5 May 1944, Aged 31 Years
Buried: Cambridge City Cemetery, Cambridgeshire
CWGC Additional Information: Son of James William and Mary Keys, husband of Thelma Ernestine Madge Keys, of St. Kilda, Victoria, Australia
Roll of Honour: St Kilda VIC
Remembered: Panel 125, Commemorative Area, Australian War Memorial, Canberra ACT
DFC Citation: “Flight Lieutenant Keys of No. 460 Squadron (RAAF) has been employed for some time as Captain of an air crew which has completed a number of successful raids on enemy objectives. His tour of duty has included no less than six attacks on Essen, two on Berlin and many others on the most heavily defended targets in enemy territory. During one of his missions to Berlin, one engine ceased to function while still 30 miles from the target. Despite this handicap, Flight Lieutenant Keys continued and completed the sortie effectively. This officer has invariably set a fine example of courage and devotion to duty.” Citation extracted from file AWM65 (3007).
At 2200 hours on the night of 4 May 1944 Mosquito DZ646 took off from Upwood detailed to bomb Ludwigshafen, Germany. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take-off and it failed to return to base. The aircraft crashed at 0132 hours on 5 May 1944 near Bourn and both crew members were killed.
The crew members of DZ646 were:
Flying Officer Arthur Ronald Hamlin (128054) (RAFVR) (Navigator Bomb Aimer)
Flight Lieutenant Graeme Connell Keys DFC (401459) (Pilot)
References:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour On-Line Records (RAAF Casualty Information compiled by Alan Storr (409804))
Commonwealth War Graves Commission On-Line Records
Department of Veterans’ Affairs On-Line WWII Nominal Roll
National Archives of Australia On-Line Record A9300, KEYS G C