William John Charles Keigwin's WWII experiences

Stephen's father (William John Charles Keigwin) joined the RAF at the age of nineteen in November 1940. He was assessed and classified as suited to pilot/observer duties, trained on Tiger Moths, and sent to join the RAF Arnold Scheme for further flying training in Albany, Georgia USA.

After serving in America and Canada, he returned to the UK where he volunteered as Bomber Command and was deployed as Bomb Aimer. He flew on a significant number of missions over Germany in 1943 and was promoted to Flight Sergeant.

He took a short leave at the beginning of 1944 to marry Marjorie Bowen on the 22nd of January in Cardiff.

He returned immediately to the RAF, rejoining 166 squadron based at RAF Kirmington in Lincolnshire. He flew on a large number of bombing missions, including the Berlin Raid on 24th March 1944. However, on 30th March 1944, the day after his 23rd birthday, William was shot down during the Nuremberg Raid. He was the sole survivor of the seven men on board, escaping through the hatch and using his parachute to reach the ground. However, he could not escape and was arrested by armed German soldiers.

William was missing in action for a few months, until his new wife Marjorie received a telegram from the MoD, advising that he had been found in PoW camp. He was initially imprisoned in Stalag Luft VI, which was located in Lithuania where he was prisoner no. 3289. With the Russians advancing, he was moved around several PoW camps until he was eventually evacuated in early 1945 and forced to join thousands of other prisoners on the Long March through Poland and Germany to liberation.

Whilst a PoW, William received letters and photos from home and a photo of his wife Marjorie was posted to Stalag Luft 3.

William was released from the RAF on the 17 November 1945, effective on 10 February 1946.

Following the war, William was enlisted as a Member of the Caterpillar Club, an informal association of persons who have successfully bailed out of a disabled aircraft. He also received the following medals:
- 1939-1945 star
- Air Crew Europe Star
- Defence Medal
- War Medal 1939-1945