Foottit, Keith Alan Murray
Personal Information
Rank | F/O |
Forename(s) | Keith Alan Murray |
Surname | Foottit |
Gender | M |
Age | 21 |
Decorations | |
Date of Death | 21-01-1944 |
Next of Kin | Son of Lt.-Col. James Augustus Warwick Foottit and Faith Oswell Foottit, of Sparsholt, Berkshire. |
Aircraft Information
Aircraft | Handley Page Halifax V |
Serial Number | LK730 |
Markings | KN-G |
Memorial Information
Burial/Memorial Country | Germany |
Burial/Memorial Place | Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery |
Grave Reference | 5. L. 20. |
Epitaph | IN TREASURED MEMORY OF "K" BELOVED YOUNGEST SON OF LT. COLONEL AND MRS. J.A.W. FOOTTIT |
IBCC Memorial Information
Phase | 2 |
Panel Number | 165 |
Enlistment Information
Service Number | 133401 |
Service | Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve |
Group | 4 |
Squadron | 77 |
Trade | Pilot |
Country of Origin | United Kingdom |
Other Memorials
Location | Holy Trinity Church, Elvington, North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Stained Glass Window & Roll of Honour |
Memorial Text | Memorial windows and Roll of Honour for 77 Sqn. R.A.F. |
Location | Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington North Yorkshire |
Country | United Kingdom |
Memorial Type | Marble Column with Metal Sculpture and Plaques |
Memorial Text | Memorial to 77 Sqn. R.A.F. City of Lancaster's own |
Miscellaneous Information
From a military background- his father was Lt Col. J A W Foottit |
Attended Maidwell Hall Prep School in Northamptonshire, where he was a member of the 1st XI and 1st XV. From there he went to Wellington and captained the Hockey XI and Rugby XV, spent a year in the cricket XI. He was Head of the Anglesey (a school house at Wellington), a Prefect, a member of the Upper X, he spent a year in the History VIth. He was awarded a place at Brasenose, Oxford but left to join the R.A.F. He was also a poet and an edition of his poems was published after the war. Trained as a pilot in Canada and the U.S.A and was posted to Instructors’ School, Texas. It was his wish to be sent home in 1943 to do his bit in the war and after 19 OTU, RAF Kinloss, and HCU he was posted to 77 Squadron at RAF Elvington. |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The National Archives
Record of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/657/2 |
Summary of Events (Operational Record Book) AIR 27/657/1 |
Fellow Servicemen
Last Operation Information
Start Date | 21-01-1944 |
End Date | 22-01-1944 |
Takeoff Station | Elvington |
Day/Night Raid | Night (18% moon) |
Operation | Magdeburg- the first major raid on this target. 648 aircraft, 57 losses (8.8%). The Halifax loss rate was especially high at 15.6%. The German controller tracked the bomber stream across the North Sea and many night-fighters were already in the stream before it reached the German coast (using the newly developed Tame Boar methodology). The controller was slow in identifying Magdeburg as the target but this was of little consequence as the fighters were able to stay in the stream for the duration of the approach. Despite the high loss rate, this was not a successful attack. Stronger tail winds than anticipated placed some of the stream over the target before Zero Hour and dropped their bomb load anyway, making the target marking much less effective. German decoy markers exacerbated the situation. No local report is available but it is thought that most of the bombs fell outside of the city. |
Reason for Loss |