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Keith Caldwell
Air Commodore Keith Logan "Grid" Caldwell, CBE, MC, DFC & Bar (16 October 1895 – 28 November 1980) was a New Zealand fighter ace of the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War who also rose to the rank of air commodore in the Royal New Zealand Air Force during the Second World War.
Born in Wellington on 16 October 1895, Keith Logan Caldwell was the son of David Robert Caldwell and his wife Mary Dunlop née McKerrow. His parents moved the family to Auckland when Caldwell was a child and he was educated at King's College and Wanganui Collegiate School. Interested in the military, he served in the Defence Cadet Corps while still at school. On completing his education, he worked as a bank clerk.
On the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, Caldwell attempted to enlist in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, raised for service in the war, but was declined. He paid £100 to join the first class at the New Zealand Flying School, run by brothers Vivian and Leo Walsh, in October 1915, where he learned to fly on the Walsh Brothers Flying Boats. He referred to aircraft as "grids", or bicycles, a habit which earned him his nickname. A quick learner, he soloed on 28 November. However, bad weather meant he was not able to complete the Royal Aero Club tests required to graduate.
Despite this, Caldwell sailed for England in January 1916. He carried with him a letter from the Walsh brothers attesting to his flying competency. He was subsequently commissioned into the Royal Flying Corps. He was trained at Oxford, Norwich and Sedgeford. On 29 July he was posted to No. 8 Squadron, which operated Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2s on observation duty near Arras. He flew extensively throughout the next four months and had at least seven encounters with German aircraft during this time. In one of these encounters, on 18 September, he and his observer shot down a Roland C.II.
Towards the end of 1916, Caldwell was transferred to No. 60 Squadron, which flew Nieuport 17 fighters. By February 1917 he was a flight commander in the squadron, having been promoted to captain. By September, when the unit converted to Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s, Caldwell had scored further victories, all against Albatros scout aircraft. He received the Military Cross on 17 September, by which time he had added his first victory in an S.E.5. The citation, published in The London Gazette, read:
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when leading offensive patrols. On one occasion he led a patrol of five machines against twelve hostile aircraft, all of which he drove down out of control. He has personally destroyed five hostile machines, and has had over fifty contests in the air, in all of which he has displayed splendid skill and fearlessness, and has set an excellent example to his squadron.
— The London Gazette, No. 29328, 15 October 1915
In October 1917 Caldwell was posted back to England as an instructor.
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Keith Caldwell
Air Commodore Keith Logan "Grid" Caldwell, CBE, MC, DFC & Bar (16 October 1895 – 28 November 1980) was a New Zealand fighter ace of the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War who also rose to the rank of air commodore in the Royal New Zealand Air Force during the Second World War.
Born in Wellington on 16 October 1895, Keith Logan Caldwell was the son of David Robert Caldwell and his wife Mary Dunlop née McKerrow. His parents moved the family to Auckland when Caldwell was a child and he was educated at King's College and Wanganui Collegiate School. Interested in the military, he served in the Defence Cadet Corps while still at school. On completing his education, he worked as a bank clerk.
On the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, Caldwell attempted to enlist in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, raised for service in the war, but was declined. He paid £100 to join the first class at the New Zealand Flying School, run by brothers Vivian and Leo Walsh, in October 1915, where he learned to fly on the Walsh Brothers Flying Boats. He referred to aircraft as "grids", or bicycles, a habit which earned him his nickname. A quick learner, he soloed on 28 November. However, bad weather meant he was not able to complete the Royal Aero Club tests required to graduate.
Despite this, Caldwell sailed for England in January 1916. He carried with him a letter from the Walsh brothers attesting to his flying competency. He was subsequently commissioned into the Royal Flying Corps. He was trained at Oxford, Norwich and Sedgeford. On 29 July he was posted to No. 8 Squadron, which operated Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2s on observation duty near Arras. He flew extensively throughout the next four months and had at least seven encounters with German aircraft during this time. In one of these encounters, on 18 September, he and his observer shot down a Roland C.II.
Towards the end of 1916, Caldwell was transferred to No. 60 Squadron, which flew Nieuport 17 fighters. By February 1917 he was a flight commander in the squadron, having been promoted to captain. By September, when the unit converted to Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s, Caldwell had scored further victories, all against Albatros scout aircraft. He received the Military Cross on 17 September, by which time he had added his first victory in an S.E.5. The citation, published in The London Gazette, read:
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when leading offensive patrols. On one occasion he led a patrol of five machines against twelve hostile aircraft, all of which he drove down out of control. He has personally destroyed five hostile machines, and has had over fifty contests in the air, in all of which he has displayed splendid skill and fearlessness, and has set an excellent example to his squadron.
— The London Gazette, No. 29328, 15 October 1915
In October 1917 Caldwell was posted back to England as an instructor.
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