Keith Lewis
Born 8 Apr 1923 - Died 28 Oct 1944
- Service number
- NZ422295 AWMM
- WWII 422295 AWMM
- Also known as
- —
- Armed force / branch
- Air Force AWMM
- Last rank
- Pilot Officer (Pilot) AWMM Royal Air Force, No. 182 Squadron AWMM
- War
- World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM
About
- Title
- —
- Forenames
- Keith AWMM
- Surname
- Lewis AWMM
- Ingoa
- —
- Also known as
- —
- Service number
- NZ422295 AWMM
- WWII 422295 AWMM
- Gender
- Male AWMM
- Iwi / Hapū / Waka / Rohe
- —
- Religion
- —
Images
Documents
About birth
- Birth
- 8 Apr 1923 RNZAF Biographies (R17845612)
- Date of birth
- 8 April 1923Public - John - Researcher - 11 April 2023 - E. Martyn For Your Tomorrow
- Place of birth
- Rangataua near OakunePublic - John - Researcher - 11 April 2023 - E. Martyn For Your Tomorrow
- Birth notes
- —
- Address before enlistment
- —
- Post war occupation
- —
- Next of kin
- WW2 Parents: Mr. & Mrs. Lewis of New Plymouth AWMM
- Relationship status
- Single/WWII AWMM
Wars and conflicts
- War
- World War II, 1939-1945 AWMM
- Campaign
- Europe (Air) AWMM
- Armed force / branch
- Air Force AWMM
- Service number
- NZ422295 AWMM
- WWII 422295 AWMM
- Military service
- British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, No. 6 Service Flying Training School, Dunnville, Ontario, Canada AWMM
Course 1: Class 68. Graduation Date: 5/03/1943. AWMM - Promotions/ Postings/ Transfers
- Royal Air Force, No. 182 Squadron AWMM
Military decorations
- Medals and Awards
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Training and Enlistment
- Military training
- —
- Branch Trade Proficiency
- —
- Enlistment
- —
- Age on enlistment
- —
- Occupation before enlistment
- —
Embarkations
- Embarkation details
- WW2 Vessel was Matsonia AWMM Royal New Zealand Air Force AWMM
Prisoner of war
- Capture details
- —
- Days interned
- —
- Liberation date
- —
- POW liberation details
- —
- Liberation Repatriation
- —
- POW serial number
- —
Medical history
- Medical notes
- Killed on Active Service, Cause of Death AWMM
Last known rank
- Last rank
- Pilot Officer (Pilot) AWMM
Royal Air Force, No. 182 Squadron AWMM - Last rank
- —
Biographical information
- Keith was a very keen sportsman . He completed two years at New Plymouth Boys High School & while there became very interested in boxing. He won his weight at the school championship in his second year at school. He also played rugby for the Star Football Club in New Plymouth and rode both track and road cycle racing in winter & was a member of the Fitzroy Surf and Lifesaving club during summer. He had well above average ability in these sports. He worked on a dairy farm for a while after leaving school but that restricted his sporting activities so he then worked for the New Plymouth Timber Coy. before joining the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
In 1998 Adriaan de Winter and Ton van Alphen undertook a project in the Reichswald Forest Cemetery photographing all the headstones of New Zealanders buried there.
Attended New Plymouth Boys High School (Source: RNZAF Biographies (R17845612)) AWMM - Keith Lewis was born near Ohakune on 8 April 1923 and attended New Plymouth’s Fitzroy School and New Plymouth Boy’s High School. He was a keen sportsman being involved in rugby, cycling and surf lifesaving. He enlisted in the RNZAF in April 1942 and began his training in Bell Block. By July 1944 he was posted to 182 Squadron which was using airfields in France in the wake of the invasion of Europe. Pilot Officer Lewis was the pilot of a typhoon fighter on 28 October 1944 when he was shot down over Boishem, Germany. He was at first buried in the cemetery at Duelken, Germany but was later reinterred in the British Military Cemetery, Reichswald Forest. He was 21.Public - Louise - Researcher - 8 August 2019 - West, J. (1995). Lest We Forget. New Plymouth: New Plymouth Boy’s High School Centennial Trust.
Puke Ariki, Swainson/Woods Collection ARC# SW1942.0745
Retrieved from https://collection.pukeariki.com/objects/77864
- Keith was a very keen sportsman . He completed two years at New Plymouth Boys High School & while there became very interested in boxing. He won his weight at the school championship in his second year at school. He also played rugby for the Star Football Club in New Plymouth and rode both track and road cycle racing in winter & was a member of the Fitzroy Surf and Lifesaving club during summer. He had well above average ability in these sports. He worked on a dairy farm for a while after leaving school but that restricted his sporting activities so he then worked for the New Plymouth Timber Coy. before joining the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
About death
- Death
- 28 Oct 1944 AWMM
Age 21 AWMM - Date of death
- —
- Age at death
- —
- Place of death
- —
- Cause of death
- Killed on Active Service AWMM
- Death notes
- —
- Cemetery
- Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Kleve, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany AWMM 30 C AWMM
- Cemetery name
- —
- Grave reference
- —
- Obituary
- —
- Memorial name
- —
- Memorial reference
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Memorial
- Memorial name
- —
Sources
- External links
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission record
https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2056358
Sources Used - RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939 - 1945 (Bound Volumes) - Ib - Ly. Archives New Zealand (R17845612)
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R17845612
Sources Used - List of RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Personnel - List of Personnel Killed or Missing in Various Theatres, 1940 - 1945. Archives New Zealand (R17845746)
https://collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search/#/entity/aims-archive/R17845746
Sources Used - https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56036047/keith-lewis/photoPublic - Privacy - 19 July 2024 - Find a Grave link with extra photos
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission record
- References
- Martyn, E. (1998-2008). For Your Tomorrow (Vols. 1-3). Christchurch, N.Z.: Volplane Press.
- This record is a work in progress and was partially compiled from the “Database of New Zealand Airmen who took part in Advanced Air Training in Canada during WW2”. Researched by Ivan and Lorna Lindsey of Tauranga. N.Z. 2003 – 2012. Reproduced with permission.
- RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939 - 1945 (Bound Volumes) - Ib - Ly. Archives New Zealand (R17845612) - Former archives reference: AIR118
- Please note that the 11 volumes of the "RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Biographies of Deceased Personnel 1939-1945" held at Archives NZ (formerly known as AIR118) should be used in conjunction with Errol Martyn's "For Your Tomorrow". FYT reflects detailed examination of all of the AIR118 bios which contain many inaccuracies and omissions.
- List of RNZAF [Royal New Zealand Air Force] Personnel - List of Personnel Killed or Missing in Various Theatres, 1940 - 1945. [Missing believed killed - Officers, Airmen]. Archives New Zealand (R17845746)
- Find a Grave link with extra photosPublic - Privacy - 19 July 2024 - https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56036047/keith-lewis/photo
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