Lieutenant General Keith Robert Coster (19 April 19205 June 2012) was a South African army officer who rose to command the Rhodesian Army from 1968 to 1972. Coster was born on 19 April 1920 in Eshowe, Natal,

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...

. He was educated at Maritzburg College, in

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. After his matriculation at the school in 1936, he enlisted in the Special Service Battalion of the Union Defence Force (UDF) (of South Africa), and was commissioned into the South African Air Force (SAAF) on 6 September 1939. While flying a Mohawk V with

5 Squadron SAAF 5 Squadron SAAF was a South African Air Force "Through hardships to the stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries ...

, he was shot down over North Africa by a Luftwaffe fighter plane, a Bf109, on 11 July 1942 and was a prisoner of war until 4 May 1945. He was sent to Stalag Luft 111 in 1942 where he was reunited with his old friend Roger Bushell (Big X) just before the camp was liberated in 1945 he helped his neighbour in the next bed

Paul Brickhill Paul Chester Jerome Brickhill (20 December 191623 April 1991) was an Australian fighter pilot, prisoner of war, and author who wrote ''The Great Escape (book), The Great Escape'', ''The Dam Busters (book), The Dam Busters'', and ''Reach for the ...

to successfully hide his manuscript of The Great Escape by wrapping it round his forearm and covering it with plaster of paris.

Post World War II

After the war, Coster transferred to the

South African Army The South African Army is the principal land warfare force of South Africa, a part of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), along with the South African Air Force, South African Navy and South African Military Health Service. ...

, and during 1952 attended the Royal Army Staff College at Camberley in England. In 1955, he left the South African Permanent Force to join the Army of the

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation or CAF, was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southe ...

as a major. On the dissolution of the Federation, Coster joined the

Rhodesian Army The Rhodesian Security Forces were the military forces of the Rhodesian government. The Rhodesian Security Forces consisted of a ground force (the Rhodesian Army), the Rhodesian Air Force, the British South Africa Police, and various personnel ...

, in which he rose to the rank of

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

and was appointed as general officer commanding. On 25 April 1969 he took the salute at a Rhodesian African Rifles public open day, in Bulawayo. He retired from that post in 1972 as a

, having commanded the Rhodesian Army from 1968 to 1972. He left for South Africa, serving as a civilian officer with the South African Defence Forces from 1981 to 1985, when he retired after forty-seven years of exemplary public service.

Awards

Coster was awarded four medals for his wartime service and he became an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE) in the

1964 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1964 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1964 to celebrat ...

. Whilst in Rhodesian service he was awarded the

Independence Decoration The Independence Decoration was a Rhodesian civil decoration awarded to persons who played a notable and significant part in the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965. Institution The award was instituted in 1970 by Presidential War ...

(Rhodesia in 1965), which was awarded in 1970, and in 1971 he received the Exemplary Service Medal. Later when in South African service he was awarded in 1981 a Grand Officer of the Order of the Star of South Africa. * * * *

Personal life

Coster married Molly Stanley in 1941 and had two children, Steven and Judy, from the marriage. After the death of his first wife, he married Millie Aherin in 1995. Coster died peacefully on 5 June 2012 in Somerset West, South Africa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coster, Keith 1920 births 2012 deaths Alumni of Maritzburg College South African Officers of the Order of the British Empire South African prisoners of war Rhodesian military leaders People from Eshowe South African World War II pilots Foreign volunteers in the Rhodesian Security Forces Shot-down aviators South African expatriates in Southern Rhodesia