KELLY, Robert William
| Service Number: | 420677 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 November 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Warrant Officer |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Summer Hill, New South Wales, Australia, 7 September 1921 |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Central Technical College, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Masonic Jeweller |
| Died: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia , 15 June 2008, aged 86 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Maryborough Staff Pilots No. 3 Wireless Air Gunners' School RAAF Honour Board |
World War 2 Service
| 9 Nov 1941: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Warrant Officer, 420677 | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Oct 1945: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Warrant Officer, 420677 |
Help us honour Robert William Kelly's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Warrant Officer Robert William Kelly (Service No:420677) enlisted in the RAAF on 9 November 1941 and was an Air Crew V before promotion to Airman Pilot in January 1943. On 11 July 1944 he was a Flight Sergeant attached to 5 Operational Training Unit (OTU) with 850 hours flying time when Beaufighter A19-100 struck a tree whilst low flying - non fatal. WO Kelly was with 20 (Attack) Squadron on 15 January 1945 when Beaufighter A8-36 he was landing ran off the airstrip and crashed into an embankment ('groundlooped on landing') - no fatalaties. WO Kelly was attached to No 20 Squadron at Discharge on 3 October 1945.
Born in 1921 in Sydney NSW, Bob was the youngest of three children of William (Willie) Charles Kelly (b1883 on the Isle of Man, England) and Esther (Essie) Piper (b1881 in Sydney, NSW). Willie was an Alehouse Man before immigrating to Sydney NSW by 1913. He was a Labourer when he and Essie married in 1914 in Drummoyne, Sydney, NSW where they settled and raised their family and Willie was a Sawyer.
Bob attended Central Technical College and was a Masonic Jeweller in Sydney when he enlisted in the RAAF. Following his Discharge, Bob lived with his parents in Sydney and returned to work as a Jeweller. In 1951 he married Cynthia Lorraine Bauer (b1920 in Maryborough, QLD) - Cynthia worked as a Clerk. Bob and Cynthia settled in Sydney where Bob was a Watchmaker and Cynthia a Clerk. Both died in 2008 - Bob in June and Cynthia in November.
Click images to start slideshow.