Capt A. A. Keller, MC; born NZ 8 Oct 1917; engineer cadet; wounded 19 Apr 1945; died Rotorua, 24 May 1956. (Source: Cody, J.F. New Zealand Engineers, Middle East. p.71.)

'It was decided to open the main highway, and Captain Keller, detailed to make a ‘recce’ of the new axis, returned for a tank to remove an enemy post that had been overrun. A reserve dozer made a crossing at the demolished bridge site and the party pushed on to the Acquarolo, where they found the bridge intact. The next obstacle, the Fossatone, was a branch of the Quaderna and needed a lot of work.
The area was under defensive enemy fire, and the blast of a shell that wounded Captain Keller lifted the dozer into the air and damaged its mechanism. The operator, Sapper Blacktopp, was very shaken but made repairs while Keller, propped up on the side of the road, directed the work until the crossing was through. They were later decorated with MC and MM respectively. The soft-skinned machines were left at this point and an armoured dozer from an attached section of 28 Assault Squadron, driven by Corporal C. H. Anderton, took over. Owing to the lack of experienced Sherman dozer operators he had been working his machine with a minimum of sleep since he was blown up on the Senio, and he received a well merited MM in the next honours list.' (Source: Cody, J.F. New Zealand Engineers, Middle East. p. 701.) AWMM