Keeling, Robert Victor

Title

Keeling, Robert Victor

Description

48 items. The collection concerns Robert Victor Keeling, DFC (b. 1916, 82689 Royal Air Force) and contains his log books, correspondence, decorations and a Scrapbook. He flew operations as a pilot with 51 Squadron. Following his retirement from the Royal Air Force with the rank of Squadron leader he became a civilian pilot.

The collection was loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by David Keeling and catalogued by Lynn Corrigan.

Date

2023-06-01

Publisher

IBCC Digital Archive

Rights

This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.

Identifier

Keeling, RV

Collection Items

Churchill's funeral
Left page: top Winston Churchill's coffin under guard; bottom, funeral possession with the coffin being pulled by Royal Navy sailors through people lined streets, annotated, 'Winston Churchill's funeral 1965'. Right page, top four men in white tie…

The greatest Englishman
Left page: top left, four men in suits at a dinner, labelled 'photo above, left to right. Sir Roger Hetherington, Sir Hugh Gaitskell Minister of Fuel, Dr Hartley and Sir Henry Tizard'; bottom, three men at.a dinner with man standing behind, annotated…

King George VI
Left page: top, coffin of King George VI under guard; bottom, the KIng's coffin pulled by Royal naval sailors. Right page: top, progression of the coffin through people lined street; bottom left, four suited men sat at a desk with three men behind;…

Railway crash
Left page: top and bottom, view of the 10 February 1946 Potters Bar station train accident, annotated 'more photographs with Bob as pilot'. Right page: top left, consecration of a new altar; top left, two women walking in a garden; middle tight, head…

Sea rescue
Left page: top, invitation to cocktails; bottom, lifeboat alongside HMS Universal submarine with P57 on its turret. Right page, top, report of the US steamer Luray Victory, annotated 'Bob was pilot when these photographs were taken; below, report of…

Visit from Princess Elizabeth
Left page: top, Princess Elizabeth at an industrial exhibition, annotated 'British industrial fair 1949?'
Centre right, report of Princess Elizabeth inspecting cooking equipment;
Bottom, viewing kitchen installations.
Right page: top and…

Experimental work
Left page: top left, helicopter undertaking survey work. Top right, a Mosquito in flight with missiles suspended below the fuselage. Middle left, reports from surveyors. Middle right, airborne missile below a Mosquito with a further missile held…

Men and missiles
Left page: top, pilot with thumb's up, annotated 'Delivering the first De Havilland Dove to Hunting Air Travel. Bob in cockpit'. Bottom, 14 members of the cast of the film This Dangerous Age arranged on the steps of a Hunting Air Travel aircraft.…

Luton
Left page: view of Luton with German annotation. Right page: top left, report of rocket development. Top right, Barracuda in flight with tail wheel showing. Middle left, three airmen standing alongside a Barracuda. Middle right, lifeboat alongside…

VE Day
Left page: top, crowds celebrating.
Middle left, Winston Churchill acknowledging the crowds.
Middle right, crowds gathered outside Buckingham Palace.
Bottom, the King, Queen, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret with Winston Churchill on the…

Dropping a lifeboat
Left page: top, left and centre views of a lifeboat being dropped from a Warwick with parachutes attached.
Bottom, a lifeboat, with sails erected on the sea.
Right page; views of a lifeboat falling towards the sea with parachutes attached.

Armaments squadron
Left page: top left and right, damage to the undercarriage of an aircraft. Middle right, aerial view of aircraft on the ground.
Bottom left and right, aerial views of an airfield, annotated '4 pages to do with Bob's work as test pilot Armaments…

Pastimes
Left page: top right, a man in top hat and tails flanked by two women, annotated 'John Hawkin's wedding August 1960'.
Bottom left ten people inspecting a rowing boat on a frame. Bottom left, head and shoulder portrait of a boy, annotated 'Ricky'.…

Young Ricky
Left page: top right, four army cadets standing to attention outside a tent. Four images of a boy, annotated 'Ricky'.
Right page, head and shoulder portraits of Ricky.

The education of british youth
Left page: the library and museum at Berkhampsted school.
Right page: top, the Old Hall; bottom, the school cloisters.

The Queen Mother's visit
Reports of a visit by the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother and Christmas
Left page: top left, list of members of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. Top right, Queen Mary standing with a woman in uniform and 13 men, one in uniform, identified as Bob.
Middle, left, Christmas greetings.
Middle, right, best wishes at…

Dieppe
Left page: top, stone buildings with external staircase, annotated 'Hawkshead'.
Middle, Beaufort in flight.
Bottom, Beaufort flight annotated 'experimental'.
Right page: American journal, headlined 'Dieppe'.
Bottom, two women and a man…

Wedding and WAAF's
Left page: top left, invitation to Flying Officer R V Keeling DFC and Mrs Keeling to the wedding of Alice Sharpley and John Keeling.
Top right, six wedding guests including a man and woman in uniform at at Boswell House, North Elkington.
Middle…

Propaganda leaflets
Left page: top, the Luftpost, numbers 10 and 18.
Middle, left report of an aircraft landing on a car.
Middle centre, woman holding a baby, reports of engagements and births of babies.
Bottom left, report of the death of Lieutenant Geoffrey William…

Operations map
Annotated, 'Showing ops by Bob and his crew 1940-41'.

Pilot wins D.F.C
Left page: top, notice of the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross to Pilot Officer R.V.Keeling.
Middle and bottom, congratulations to Bob on his award.
Right page; top, title of the Vauxhall Mirror.
Middle, report of Bob's operational career…

Targets
Left page: top, two flying Whitley aircraft passing over the Dutch coast.
Middle left, aerial view of Hamburg docks.
Middle right, bombing targets and fires in Gelsenkirchen.
Bottom left, bombing of Boulogne harbour.
Bottom right, a woman…

Headington School
Left page; top, view across tennis courts to Headington School, Headington road, Headington, Oxford.
Bottom, a group of 13 girls and a teacher taken in the main assembly hall of Headington school.
Right page: top a group of 13 children and a…

Family
Left page: top, an aircraft with 'Hunting Aerospace Surveys Ltd' on the fuselage, annotated, 'Bob pilot'.
Bottom, left head and shoulder portrait of a boy, annotated 'Nov 1963''.
Bottom right, portrait of a girl with toys, annotated 'Hilly'.…
View all 48 items

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