Today we remember - Fl Lt Keith Lefroy
We recently received a message from Sharon Lefroy. Sharon is the niece of Flt Lt Keith Lefroy who was killed in action in November 1943 over the Netherlands.
Although from Ingersoll ON, Sharon is keen to share the story of her Uncle and try to reach any surviving relatives. We’re proud to be able to help Sharon with their quest.
Fl Lt Keith Lefroy
On 18 Sept 1941, Keith Lefroy was posted overseas and reported to the #3 Personnel Reception Centre (PRC) at Bournemouth, UK on 24 Oct 1941. This centre determined where aircrew would be assigned based on their qualifications and the needs of the RAF at any given time for fighter, bomber, maritime patrol or training positions.
The need for aerial gunners in the expanding Bomber Command resulted in a posting for him as a target towing pilot at #8 Aerial Gunnery School (AGS) stationed at Evanston, near Inverness Scotland on 16 Nov 1941.
The gunnery School used single engine Westland Lysander aircraft towing a cloth banner which became a target for air gunner trainees firing from the gun turret of another aircraft. Keith flew the Lysander for a total of 208 hours while at this school and then later qualified to fly the twin engined Blackburn Botha used to carry the gunnery trainees on these aerial exercises. He flew this aircraft for a total of 582 hours until he transferred out from the Gunnery School in April 1943.
This is where Sharon’s article in the Ottawa Citizen takes up Ft Lt Lefroy’s story
“It was dusk when 24-year-old Flight-Lt. Keith Lefroy and his six-member Pathfinder crew boarded the Lancaster at Gransden Lodge. It was Nov. 23, 1943, and the Second World War had been raging for four years. The Allied Forces were conducting a strategic bombing campaign aimed at crippling the German war machine.”
Read the full story here:
https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/tulips-war-ve-day
Photos: Courtesy of Sharon Lefroy
Today we remember - Fl Lt Keith Lefroy
We recently received a message from Sharon Lefroy. Sharon is the niece of Flt Lt Keith Lefroy who was killed in action in November 1943 over the Netherlands.
Although from Ingersoll ON, Sharon is keen to share the story of her Uncle and try to reach any surviving relatives. We’re proud to be able to help Sharon with their quest.
Fl Lt Keith Lefroy
On 18 Sept 1941, Keith Lefroy was posted overseas and reported to the #3 Personnel Reception Centre (PRC) at Bournemouth, UK on 24 Oct 1941. This centre determined where aircrew would be assigned based on their qualifications and the needs of the RAF at any given time for fighter, bomber, maritime patrol or training positions.
The need for aerial gunners in the expanding Bomber Command resulted in a posting for him as a target towing pilot at #8 Aerial Gunnery School (AGS) stationed at Evanston, near Inverness Scotland on 16 Nov 1941.
The gunnery School used single engine Westland Lysander aircraft towing a cloth banner which became a target for air gunner trainees firing from the gun turret of another aircraft. Keith flew the Lysander for a total of 208 hours while at this school and then later qualified to fly the twin engined Blackburn Botha used to carry the gunnery trainees on these aerial exercises. He flew this aircraft for a total of 582 hours until he transferred out from the Gunnery School in April 1943.
This is where Sharon’s article in the Ottawa Citizen takes up Ft Lt Lefroy’s story
“It was dusk when 24-year-old Flight-Lt. Keith Lefroy and his six-member Pathfinder crew boarded the Lancaster at Gransden Lodge. It was Nov. 23, 1943, and the Second World War had been raging for four years. The Allied Forces were conducting a strategic bombing campaign aimed at crippling the German war machine.”
Read the full story here:
https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/tulips-war-ve-day
Photos: Courtesy of Sharon Lefroy
