Keith Caldwell

Air Commodore Keith Logan "Grid" Caldwell, (16 October 1895 – 28 November 1980) was a New Zealand fighter ace of the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War who also rose to the rank of air commodore in the Royal New Zealand Air Force during the Second World War.

Early life Born in Wellington on 16 October 1895, Keith Logan Caldwell was the son of David Robert Caldwell and his wife Mary Dunlop . His parents moved the family to Auckland when Caldwell was a child and he was educated at King's College and Wanganui Collegiate School. Interested in the military, he served in the Defence Cadet Corps while still at school. On completing his education, he worked as a bank clerk.

First World War

On the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, Caldwell attempted to enlist in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, raised for service in the war, but was declined. He paid £100 to join the first class at the New Zealand Flying School, run by brothers Vivian and Leo Walsh, in October 1915, where he learned to fly on the Walsh Brothers Flying Boats. He referred to aircraft as "grids", or bicycles, a habit which earned him his nickname.

In October 1917 Caldwell was posted back to England as an instructor.

No. 74 Squadron RAF

In February 1918 Caldwell was elevated to the rank of major and appointed commander of No. 74 Squadron, which was equipped with the S.E.5. He took the squadron to France the following month and,

Second World War During the Second World War, Caldwell served in the RNZAF, as station commander at Woodbourne near Blenheim and later Wigram at Christchurch, before being posted to India in 1944 and England in 1945, where he was promoted to acting air commodore, achieving full rank in 1946.

Later life Caldwell retired from the RNZAF in 1946 and resumed farming in South Auckland at Glen Murray. He retained an interest in military aviation and in 1960, along with Ronald Bannerman and Leonard Isitt, established the New Zealand 1914–1918 Airmen's Association. Members of the organisation met annually to reminiscence about their wartime experiences. Retiring to live in Auckland in 1970, he died of cancer there on 28 November 1980.