Sir Alexander George William "Bill" Keys, (2 February 1923 – 3 May 2000) was an Australian Army officer and a long-serving president of the Returned and Services League (RSL).

Early life and career

Keys was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

on 2 February 1923 and grew up on his family's farm at Bombala. He enlisted in the military in 1940 and served with the Second Australian Imperial Force in New Guinea. He was injured at the Battle of Tarakan, and was invalided home for the rest of the war. He also served in the Korean War with the

3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment The 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) is a mechanised infantry battalion of the Australian Army, based in Kapyong Lines, Townsville as part of the 3rd Brigade. 3 RAR traces its lineage to 1945 and has seen operational serv ...

, although he was also wounded in that conflict. He received the Military Cross in 1952. Before the Korean War, Keys had been elected to the New South Wales council of the RSL (1947), and he became national secretary of the RSL in 1961, rising to the presidency and retaining it until 1986. Keys, who also served as international president of the Federation of Korean War Veterans Associations, was appointed

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 o ...

in 1970 and Companion of the Order of Australia in 1988. He was knighted in 1979.

Personal life

Keys married Dulcie Beryl Stinton at St Phillip's Church of England, Auburn on 12 September 1950. The couple had met on the Orion, on a voyage to England in June the previous year. Keys died at home in

Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in the south-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the ...

of cancer in 2000. Lady Keys, his widow, died aged 94 on 7 April 2018, survived by their three daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keys, William 1923 births 2000 deaths Australian Army officers Australian Knights Bachelor Australian military personnel of the Korean War Australian Army personnel of World War II Companions of the Order of Australia Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Australian recipients of the Military Cross Deaths from cancer in New South Wales