On
enlistment Ernest's next of kin was given as Mrs. I. Keeley, 8 Glenwood
Gardens, Little Sutton, Wirral, Cheshire.
His father was
William
Keeley,
29 Livingston Road
,
Elsmere
Port.
He
married Isabella Mergatroyd, a spinster, on 16 November 1935 in Elsmere
Port. He enlisted on
3rd July, 1940
. His civil occupation was
Insurance
Agent for the Cooperative Insurance Society in
Chester
between 1935 and 1940. On entry, he was 6’ ½” tall with a 34”
chest,
dark
hair, brown eyes, medium complexion. He had a vaccination scar on his left
arm and a cartilage scar on his right leg.
On
entry, he attended No. 3 Receiving Centre at Padgate. From there, he was
put into the Reserve on
the 9th July, 1940
. From the
Reserve
to 18 Balloon Centre, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow.
He was given the service number 1058259.
Makeup
of No. 18 Balloon Centre, Bishopbriggs,
Glasgow
.
929
24 balloons
South Queensferry
(7 waterborne)
945
40 balloons
Glasgow
946
48 balloon
Renfrew
947
32 balloons
Glasgow
948
24 balloons
Rosyth
967
48 balloons
Ardrossan
968
40 balloons
Forming at Bishopbriggs:
(8 waterborne)
No.
968 Balloon Barrage Squadron moved to Belfast on 12 September 1940. He
was now Acting Charge Hand/Balloon Operator 1058259
Ernest
Keeley.
On
23rd Sept, 1940
, he was posted to 947 Squadron as a Balloon Operator. On
4 March, 1941
, he was admitted to
Lothian General
Hospital
,
Glasgow
. Later transferred to Southern
General
Hospital
, on
3 April, 1941
. On discharge from hospital he had become a Balloon
Operator
and Driver.
On
31st December, 1940
, his rank was Aircraftman 2nd Class. His character was very
good, and his trade was Balloon Operator Charge
Hand.
His proficiency was classed as Satisfactory A
On
4th February 1941
, he was promoted
to Aircraftman 1st Class.
7 June, 1941
, he was back at
18 Balloon Centre, Glasgow, A Flight. He was then posted to 947 Squadron,
then back to 18 Balloon
Centre
A Flight on
5 July, 1941
. He was posted to 947 Squadron and was posted to 945 Squadron on
1 August, 1942
.
On
1st August, 1941
, he was promoted
to a Leading Aircraftman.
On
30th October 1941
, he was promoted
to a Temporary Corporal.
On
31st December,
1941
his rank was
Temporary Corporal. His character was very good, and his trade was Balloon
Operator (D).
His
proficiency was classed as: A
Superior
, B Satisfactory, C Satisfactory.
On
30th September
1942
,
he underwent a medical board, achieving A4B classification, and was
declared fit for command into a branch of the Royal Air Force
Volunteers
as an officer.
On
31st December 1942
, his rank was Temporary Corporal. His character was very good, and his
trade was Balloon Operator (D). His proficiency was classed as A Superior,
B Superior.
On
6th January, 1943
, he was discharged on appointment to a temporary commission, having
served 2 years, 183 days.
He
attended No 1
Officers
School
, Cosford, on
7 Jan, 1943
. From there he attended No. 15 Board of Trade Testing, achieving physical
fitness
to become a Flying Officer.
On
10th February 1943
, he was in No 61 Maintenance Unit based at Handsforth, Wilmslow.
On 2nd March 1943 he was gazetted as having been granted a commission as
an Acting Pilot Officer bfor the duration of the emergency
from
7th January 1943.
In
a supplement to the London Gazette dated
16th April, 1943
, he is listed to have now graded as Pilot Officer on Probation
(Emergency).
He
was Pilot Officer 136647 Ernest Keeley. On
7th Sept 1943
, in supplement to the London Gazette, on page 4140, said he was
promoted
to
Flying Officer on Probation (War Substitute).
On
18th February 1944
, he was posted to Upwood, Cambridgeshire - still with the rank of Flying
Officer.
His brother who had been such a gifted footballer had enlisted and was 2nd
Lieutenant Arthur Keeley, Royal
Sussex Regiment,
attached
to 7th
Bn. Somerset Light Infantry was
killed in action on 10th August 1944 in Normandy, France.
He had
always been tipped as
one
of those footballers who would be much sought after once the war was over.
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