Keel, Poul Ulrik Axel Died

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Personal Information

Rank F/L
Forename(s) Poul Ulrik Axel
Surname Keel
Gender M
Age 32
Date of Death 04-06-1944
Next of Kin Son of Harald Oluf Keel and Hilma Olivia Mathilde Victoria Keel (née Hansen), of Copenhagen, Denmark. Husband of Dyveke Keel (née Reumert).
KEEL PU

Aircraft Information

Aircraft Vickers Wellington III
Serial Number BK470
Markings

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Golders Green Crematorium, later repatriated to Solbjerg Parkkirkegård Cemetery, Frederiksberg, Copenhagen
Grave Reference Panel 2.

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase 1
Panel Number 58

Enlistment Information

Service Number 101474
Service Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Group 92
Squadron 16 OTU
Trade Pilot
Country of Origin Denmark

Miscellaneous Information

Born 23 February 1912 in Copenhagen, Denmark. His father was an engineer and director.
From danishww2pilots.dk: Passed his A-levels at Efterslægtselskabets School in 1931 and, the following year, he began studying at the Polytechnic in Copenhagen. In 1936, he was married to Dyveke Reumert, the daughter of the Danish actor Poul Reumert, and later that year they had a son. Keel graduated as engineer in 1937 and was employed by A/S The Tanganyika Planting Company Ltd., a Danish sugar company in British East Africa, in the autumn of 1938. When the German forces crossed the Danish border, Keel found himself cut off from his wife and son in Denmark. He volunteered for the Kenya Regiment on 19 June 1940 but transferred to the RAF on 19 September to train as a pilot, after which he was posted to 45 Squadron in Libya. After the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbour, No. 45 Squadron transferred to Burma but after two periods of sick leave, he was sent to England to 16 OTU. It is uncertain whether he was an instructor or a pilot under training, although the latter is most likely.
His name may also be found on the Kenya Regiment memorial, Hospital Road, Upper Hill, Nairobi, Kenya (36°48'30.81"E, 1°17'30.81"S W3W/// lecturing.goofy.regress).
His Kenya Regiment service number was KR1329

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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Last Operation Information

Start Date 04-06-1944
End Date 04-06-1944
Takeoff Station Barford St. John
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation Training
Reason for Aircraft Loss Crashed on take-off, hitting nearby farm buildings. All of the other crew members were able to escape.

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Casualty Pack

IBCC is delighted to introduce a unique facility to link the Losses Database to the relevant RAF Casualty Pack on the National Archives website. This project is the result of on-going collaboration between IBCC, the MOD Records Office and National Archives, Kew. This document describes what Casualty Packs are, when they were created, the process of making them available to the public and then goes on to describe the process by which you can view the contents of the packs. Casualty Packs (CPs) were created by the RAF whenever there was serious injury or loss of life associated with operational activity within the RAF. This includes operational flying losses, enemy action due to air raids, road accidents either on station or even off-station if they involved RAF vehicles. Deaths due to natural causes in service or accidents that did not involve RAF vehicles did not generally give rise to a CP.

CPs were originally given a unique reference number by the RAF. Each begins with the letter ‘P’ and is followed by six digits, then an oblique (forward slash) and the finally the year in which the incident took place- for example P396154/42.

The CPs are in the process of being made available to the general public as they are passed from the MOD Records Office, Portsmouth to National Archives, Kew. This process requires some rework to the files which is very time consuming, so the process of making them all available to National Archives will take several years. They are being made available in increasing date order.

Once CPs arrive at National Archives they are assigned a unique AIR81 number, so each CP has both a P-number and an AIR81 number. Both are searchable on the National Archives website under ‘Search the catalogue’ and both are included on the IBCC website.

The AIR81 reference on the IBCC website is a link to the file on the National Archives website. When you click on it, the relevant page will open in a new tab on your browser.

There is currently no plan to digitise AIR81 files, partly because they are fragile and partly because the information they contain can at times be sensitive, even harrowing, since they may contain exhumation reports and even photographs of corpses. Family members wishing to read the AIR81 files relating to their ancestors are advised to exercise caution and be guided by National Archives warnings where appropriate.

There are two means for accessing AIR81 files- to attend in person or to order a copy by post.

To attend in person, the attendee should first create a Reader’s Ticket. This can be done online by following this link: https://secure.nationalarchives.gov.uk/login/yourdetails. Then click on the AIR81 reference on the IBCC website and click Order in Advance. Enter your Reader’s Ticket number and state the date on which you intend to visit. National Archives will have the file ready for you when you arrive, saving you time. When you visit Kew, you must quote the Reader’s Ticket number and take along two forms of ID- one bearing your signature and one bearing your address. When you view the files, you are permitted to take photographs of each page, should you wish.

Alternatively, if you wish to order a copy by post, please be aware that there is a charge for this service based on the number of pages in the file. Click on the AIR81 reference on the IBCC website and then click Request a Copy. There is an £8.40 charge for National Archives staff to access the file and give you a quotation for the copying service. The process takes around 24 days to complete and can be expensive.

IBCC wishes to thank the staff at the MOD Records Office and National Archives for their engagement and assistance in making this facility available to our website users.