William Keith DIVES DFC [15660]

  General Notes:

William (Bill) is said to have been born near the railway to Que Que as his mother sought the train to town to have her child.

Romy writes 2014.
Bill was posted by the RAF to England (from Southern Rhodesia) in Jul 1943 when he was 19 yrs old, He piloted Lancaster Bombers. Bill joined 44th squadron in August 1944 (between June & July 44 Sqd had lost 22 Lancasters out of its fleet of 26. Most had not reached their 22nd birthdays. A stint was 30 missions, few had gone past 13).

The photo of William Dives, aged 20, taken in July 1944, just before the first of his 36 sorties as captain of an RAF Lancaster bomber in No 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron - Bomber Harris's squadron."

After the War Bill first became an International Commercial Pilot and then an Agronomist. He worked for Windmill Fertilizer becoming their Chief Agronomist. Romy remembers him coming to their farm just after he had finished at Agricultural College and contour ridging the tobacco lands.

Romy thinks his first love always remained flying. He flew for pleasure and when he got older and became hard of hearing managed to hide this fact for many years until the flight control tower in Salisbury/Harare could no longer cover for him. He was heartsore when he was grounded.
However his son writing in 2015 does not recall his father ever expressing a great love of flying, but recalls many adverse comments and reactions about his commercial flying days. He was grounded in 1956, unassociated with hearing.

Later Bill researched his family tree back to Normandy in France where he retired in search of his roots.

He had a heart as big as a Universe as did his sister Suzanne

Image Courtesy of Romy.

  Research Notes:

Bill wrote an autobiography 'A Bundu Boy in Bomber Command which has been published by his family.
http://bookstore.trafford.com/Products/SKU-000148647/A-Bundu-Boy-in-Bomber-Command.aspx

William married Christiane MAI [15661] [MRIN: 5561]. (Christiane MAI [15661] was born in 1928.)

William next married Stella [20792] [MRIN: 7461]. (Stella [20792] was buried in France.)