Keith Dawson Kibbey
Memorial: Staple Hill - Page Park
Regiment: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Medals: 1939–45 Star, Air Crew Europe Star, War Medal 1939–1945
Rank and number: Sergeant (Air Gunner)
Parents: Maj. Frederick Victor Kibbey, M.C., and Elizabeth Kibbey
Home address: Staple Hill, Bristol
Date of birth: 1924
Date of death: 29/07/1944
Buried/Commemorated at: Buried at Glonville Communal Cemetery France and Commemorated on Staple Hill War Memorial
Age: 19
Further information:
103 Sqdn. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.
Keith was the youngest of 3 brothers. His plane took off from Yorkshire on the night of the 28th July to join nearly 500 other Lancaster Bombers on a bombing mission of Stuttgart in Germany. They were escorted by fighter aircraft but were attacked by Luftwaffe night fighters and shot down over Glonville in France. Leslie died in the subsequent crash along with 2 other crew members and of the 4 remaining crew members, who had managed to parachute out, 2 were taken prisoner and 2 escaped and were hidden by local inhabitants. During the 2 nights of the Stuttgart bombing operation, a total of 53 bombers were lost with 192 casualties. Keith along with his comrades was buried with much ceremony on 31st July in Glonville Cemetery.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
https://wartimememoriesproject.com/ww2/thosewhoserved/a-ww2.php?pagenum=20
http://glonville.org/patrimoine.html
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/