Date of birth:

June 15th, 1892 (Thames, New Zealand)

Date of death:

February 6th, 1975 (Auckland, New Zealand)

Nationality:

New Zealander (1907-1947, Dominion UK)

Sir Keith Rodney Park, the son of a Scottish geologist and keen on guns and riding, joined the Army as a Territorial soldier in the New Zealand Field Artillery.
When the First World War broke out, he participated in the landings at Gallipoli in April 1915. Moving up the ranks, he joined the Royal Horse and Field Artillery an took part in the Battle of the Somme. Here he learned the value of aerial reconnaissance, noting the manner in which German aircraft were able to spot Allied artillery for counterbattery fire and getting an early taste of flight by being taken aloft to check his battery's camouflage. On 21 October 1916, Park was blown off his horse by a German shell. Wounded, he was evacuated to England and graded "unfit for active service," which technically meant he was unfit to ride a horse. After a brief spell recuperating he joined the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in December 1916.
After a spell as an instructor he was posted to France and managed a posting to join No. 48 Squadron, on 7 July 1917. Within a week the squadron moved to Frontier Aerodrome just east of Dunkirk. Park soon achieved successes against German fighters, earning, on 17 August, the Military Cross for shooting down one, two "out of control" and damaging a fourth enemy during one sortie. He was promoted to temporary captain on 11 September.
After a break from flying he returned to France as a major to command No. 48 Squadron. By the end of the war he had earned a bar to his Military Cross, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the French Croix de Guerre. His final tally of aircraft claims was five destroyed and 14 (and one shared) "out of control".

Interwar years
After the War, Park was awarded a permanent commission as a captain in the Royal Air Force and when the new RAF officer ranks were introduced in 1919, Park became a flight lieutenant. He served as a flight commander on No. 25 Squadron from 1919 to 1920 before taking up duties as a squadron commander at the School of Technical Training. In 1922 he was selected to attend the newly formed RAF Staff College. Later on Park commanded RAF stations and was an instructor before becoming a staff officer to Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding in 1938.

Second World War
Promoted to the rank of Air Vice Marshal, Park took command of No. 11 Group RAF, responsible for the fighter defence of London and southeast England, in April 1940. He organized fighter patrols over France during the Dunkirk evacuation and in the Battle of Britain his command took the brunt of the Luftwaffe's air attacks. Flying his personalised Hawker Hurricane around his fighter airfields during the battle, Park gained a reputation as a shrewd tactician with an astute grasp of strategic issues and as a popular "hands-on" commander. However, he became embroiled in an acrimonious dispute with Air Vice Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory, commander of 12 Group. Leigh Mallory, already envious of Park for leading the key 11 Group while 12 Group was left to defend airfields, repeatedly failed to support Park. Park's subsequent prickliness of character during the Big Wing controversy contributed to his and Dowding's removal from command at the end of the battle, showing that Leigh-Mallory's arguments had the sympathies of the senior echelons of the RAF. Park was to be bitter on this matter for the rest of his life.
He was sent to Training Command. Later, in February 1947 Lord Tedder, then Chief of the Royal Air Force said of him "If any one man won the Battle of Britain, he did. I do not believe it is realised how much that one man, with his leadership, his calm judgment and his skill, did to save, not only this country, but the world." One of the top Allied air aces of the war Johnnie Johnson said of Park "He was the only man who could have lost the war in a day or even an afternoon". Another ace who fought in the Battle of Britain, the RAF pilot Douglas Bader, said that "the awesome responsibility for this country’s survival rested squarely on Keith Park’s shoulders. British military history of this century has been enriched with the names of great fighting men from New Zealand, of all ranks and in every one of our services. Keith Park’s name is carved into history alongside those of his peers."
January 1942 Park went to Egypt as Air Officer Commanding, where he built up the air defence of the Nile Delta. In July 1942 he returned to action, commanding the vital air defence of Malta. From there his squadrons participated in the North African and Sicilian campaigns.
In June 1944, he was considered by the Australian government to command the RAAF, because of rivalry between the nominal head, Chief of the Air Staff Air Vice Marshal George Jones and his deputy the operational head, Air Vice Marshal William Bostock, but General Douglas MacArthur said it was too late in the war to change. In November 1944, his opponent from the Battle of Britain, Leigh-Mallory, was tragically killed whilst en-route to the Far East to take up the post of Allied Air Commander in South East Asia. Ironically, the person chosen to replace him was Keith Park. In February 1945 Park was appointed Allied Air Commander, South-East Asia, where he served until the end of the war.

Assessments
He retired and was promoted to Air Chief Marshal on 20 December 1946 and returned to New Zealand, where he took up a number of civic roles and was elected to the Auckland City Council. He lived in New Zealand until his death on 6 February 1975, aged 82 years.
Sir Keith Park is commemorated by the Sir Keith Park Memorial Airfield, Auckland, New Zealand. The gate guardian of which is a replica of Park's Hawker Hurricane.
On 8 May 2009 Westminster City Council (London) agreed to a put up a statue of Park in recognition of his work as commander of No.11 Group during the Battle of Britain in Trafalgar Square.

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• Photo 1: Wikimedia Commons
• - History of RAF Organisation
  - The Aerodrome
  - The Sir Keith Park Memorial Campaign
  - The London Gazette Issue 35015 published on the 17 December 1940
  - Third Supplement to The London Gazette Issue 35801 published on the 24 November 1942
  - Supplement to The London Gazette Issue 36866 published on the 29 December 1944
  - Supplement to The London Gazette Issue 37998 published on the 24 June 1947
  

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