William Keys

Background

Keys was born in Sydney in 1923.

Career

He enlisted in the military in 1940 and served with the Second Australian Imperial Force in New Guinea. He was injured at the Battle of Tarakan, and was invalided home for the rest of the war. He also served in the Korean War with the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, although he was also wounded in that conflict.

Before the Korean War, Keys had been elected to the New South Wales council of the RSL (1947), and he became national secretary of the RSL in 1961, rising to the presidency and retaining it until 1986.

He was knighted in 1979. He died of cancer in Queanbeyan in 2000.

Achievements

He received the Military Cross in 1952. Keys, who also served as international president of the Federation of Korean War Veterans Associations, was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1970 and Companion of the Order of Australia in 1988.

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School period

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Career

Achievements

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Connections

William Keys

Background

Career

Achievements

Born

Died

Nationality

Awards

Officer of the Order of the British Empire; Military Cross; Order of Australia Military Cross; Companion of the Order of Australia