Keith Bruce Chisholm, (22 December 1918 – 23 August 1991)National Archives of Australia, Service Record, Keith B. Chisholm, Service No 40215

was a distinguished Australian pilot who served in No. 452 Squadron RAAF during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was recognised for his exploits with the Polish and French resistance after being shot down over France in October 1941.

Early career

Chisholm was born in

Petersham, New South Wales Petersham is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Petersham is located 6 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area ...

, and educated at Newington College (1930–1936). While training as a dentist, war broke out, and he joined the Royal Australian Air Force, in 1940 and trained with the Empire Air Training Scheme in Canada, being one of the first Australian graduates.''Barrier Miner'', Broken Hill, NSW, 21 May 1945
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With No. 452 Squadron and capture

In May 1941 he was assigned to 452 squadron, a

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

squadron which belonged to the RAF Kenley Wing. In August and September 1941 he was responsible for 7 "kills," while flying

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...

Mark Vs, however he was shot down near Berck-sur-Mer, on 1 October 1941, and parachuted into the sea. The official Australian War History notes: He was captured by the Germans and sent to Lamsdorf Prisoner of War camp.John Hetherington (1954) ''Air War Against Germany and Italy 1939–1943''. ustralia in the war of 1939–1945. Series 3, Air ; v. 3Australian War Memorial, Canberra. pp.140–142 . In April 1942 he and another RAAF airman exchanged identities with two soldiers, and were able to join a working party outside the camp. In June, Chisholm and several others escaped, but they were recaptured near

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

, in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, and returned to Lamsdorf Prisoner of War camp.

Successful escape

In August 1942, having again swapped his identity, Chisholm and three others managed to escape from a work camp near Gliwice. After a week they made contact with sympathetic Poles, and were taken to a resistance leader in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. Chisholm lived with a Polish family in Warsaw for much of this time. Various plans for escape back to England were developed and abandoned as the war progressed. The official account of his escape notes a degree of audacity in his activities; on one occasion, when a fellow escapee's papers were challenged in Poland, he pushed a policeman into the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

river to effect their escape. Finally, in March 1944, Chisholm and a Dutch refugee left Poland by train for Berlin, using money and forged papers obtained from the Polish resistance. After a day spent in Berlin; "Visiting cinemas, viewing bomb damage and dining in restaurants," Chisholm and his partner departed by train for Brussels. After many delays, Chisholm reached Paris on 10 May 1944. Here he lived with a policeman and joined the French Forces of the Interior, until, with liberation, he was able to return to England on 30 August 1944. Official War historian John Hetherington commented; Chisholm was the first Empire trainee to win the

Distinguished Flying Medal The Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Royal Air Force and other British Armed Forces, and formerly to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for "exceptional va ...

Later life

After the war, Chisholm sponsored a member of the family who had hidden him, Polish lawyer and former underground member Halina Kozubowska, to come to Australia. He met her on arrival in Sydney with other refugees in November 1946. "I always fall on my feet" he told the ''Western Mail'' in 1952, following his engagement to 24-year-old Eliane Defferriere, in Paris in 1952. After the war he became a woolbuyer, moving to Andover, Massachusetts in 1957. Chisholm died in 1991, survived by his second wife, Marie-France, and four children. A memorial service was held in the Newington College Chapel. In 1993, his ashes were returned to Australia by his widow and step-son and interred, with full military honours, at Rookwood Cemetery with a Newington College Guard of Honour.The Newingtonian (Syd, 1993) pp220

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chisholm, Keith Bruce 1918 births 1991 deaths Australian World War II flying aces People educated at Newington College People from Sydney Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Medal Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Australian Air Force officers Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany