Winnipeg, Manitoba
Mr. Keatch is a Veteran of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He is a key figure in the Down Under Club of Winnipeg’s (DUCW) partnership with the General Monash Branch of The Royal Canadian Legion (RCL). Since 1949, Mr. Keatch has been a Parade Commander and chief organizer of the annual ANZAC Commemoration Service—a national day of remembrance that honours members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who served and died at Gallipoli during the First World War, as well as in all military operations since. In 1999, he was involved in the unveiling of the “Garden of Memories” memorial at Air Force Heritage Park, dedicated to all those who trained, fought, and died under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP). Mr. Keatch later appeared in a documentary of the event, and a second video documenting the history and operations of the BCATP, titled “In A Common Cause.” His Manitoba story is in the book “Canada’s War Grooms and the Girls Who Stole Their Hearts” by Judy Kozar. Mr. Keatch is a Life Member of the Wartime Pilots and Observers Association, the longest serving Veterans’ organization in Canada, which held its final parade on June 6, 2008. He has long supported the General Monash Branch, and is regularly involved in various activities at 17 Wing Winnipeg.