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

was an Australian pilot who served in

No. 452 Squadron RAAF No. 452 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) air traffic control unit. It was established in 1941 as a fighter aircraft, fighter squadron, in accordance with Article XV Squadrons, Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme during Wo ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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

, and educated at

Newington College Newington College is a multi-campus Independent school, independent Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church Single-sex education, single-sex and Mixed-sex education, co-educational Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primar ...

(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 The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a large-scale multinational military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand during the Second Wo ...

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 The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

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 that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

Mark Vs, however he was shot down near

Berck-sur-Mer Berck (), sometimes referred to as Berck-sur-Mer in French or Berck-su-Mér in Picard ( ''Berck on Sea''), is a commune in the northern French department of Pas-de-Calais. Situated on the English Channel immediately north the mouth of the ri ...

, 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 ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...

, in

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, 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 Gliwice (; , ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital ...

occupied Poland ' (Norwegian language, Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV 2 (Norway), TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. ...

. After a week they made contact with sympathetic Poles from

Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

and were taken to a resistance leader in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. 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 German policeman into the

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

river to effect their escape (the German subsequently drowned; according to Krap diary, however, Chisholm overreacted to a routine document check, which endangered them and caused Krap's, whose document was recovered by the Germans; much trouble, forcing him into hiding). Finally, in March 1944, Chisholm and another Dutch escapee, , 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 The French Forces of the Interior (FFI; ) were French resistance fighters in the later stages of World War II. Charles de Gaulle used it as a formal name for the resistance fighters. The change in designation of these groups to FFI occurred as F ...

, 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 val ...

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 stepson and interred, with full military honours, at

Rookwood Cemetery Rookwood Cemetery (officially named Rookwood Necropolis) is a heritage-listed cemetery in Rookwood, Sydney, Australia. It is the largest necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere and is the world's largest remaining operating cemetery from the ...

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 Military personnel 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