Air marshal denzil keelor: We would want to express our gratitude to Trevor, his brother, and all the Anglo-Indians who have flown for the IAF on his passing.
The year is 1965.
Air marshal denzil keelor: Pakistan and India are at war. Denzil and Trevor Keelor are brothers who are both Squadron Leaders in the Indian Air Force and have always yearned to serve their country as combat pilots.
On September 3, Trevor, piloting the diminutive yet fierce Gnat fighter jet, makes history by being the first Indian Air Force pilot to down a Pakistani fighter, the highly regarded American F-86 Sabre, over Chhamb in Jammu and Kashmir. He instantly becomes a hero in his country.
On September 19, a few days later, it was Denzil’s time, the older brother. When he brings down a Sabre, he is also flying a Gnat in a duel over Sialkot, Pakistan.
Air marshal denzil keelor: The Legend of the Keelor Brothers: When Reality Outdoes Fiction
Two sibling pairs. Two fatalities. It’s the material for movies. Who could write a more dramatic plot with high-stakes action, daring patriotism, and a victory over Pakistan, the arch-enemy?
“We weren’t very good, but Pakistan became irritated. And India blew it up so big that people still say, ‘You won the war for us,'” Air Marshal Denzil Keelor told The Quint in 2015, 50 years later, sounding as humble and realistic as ever about his accomplishment.
His revelation does not come as a surprise to those who served alongside Denzil during his illustrious 37-year career in the IAF, which concluded in 1991. Speaking to The Quint, Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi, a former chief of staff of the Air Force, states, “Denzil was a soldier who understood how a battle is won. Denzil always maintained that a country can never have its heroes on a one-man show.”
Or, as the Keelor brothers of the Indian Air Force put it, a two-man show. Denzil, undoubtedly one of the most well-known soldiers of contemporary India, died on August 28, 2024. In 2002, Trevor passed away.
Air marshal denzil keelor: The IAF’s Anglo-Indian Trailblazers
Their passing also signals the end of a significant chapter in the history of the Indian Air Force, one that followed the path set decades before by some amazing Anglo-Indian leaders and pilots.
“India produced some excellent Anglo-Indian pilots, flight teachers, test pilots, and even chopper (helicopter) pilots. I have the utmost respect for them, as well as for India’s Parsi fighter pilots,” former IAF Vice Chief KC “Nanda” Cariappa told The Quint. At 86 years old, the son of Field Marshal KM Cariappa, the first Army Chief of Independent India, experienced the height of the Indian Air Force’s “Anglo-Indian Era.”
Thousands of passionate Anglo-Indians volunteered to help with the war effort when it started in 1939. Pilot Officer Maurice Barker became the first Anglo-Indian to be commissioned in the Indian Air Force in March 1941
Hundreds of Anglo-Indians were serving by 1947. After retiring in 1976, Maurice Barker continued to be a trailblazer by becoming the first Anglo-Indian Air Marshal of India. His best moment came in 1971 during the Liberation of Bangladesh, when he oversaw the nighttime bombing of Pakistani forces in East Pakistan while serving as the chief of Central Air Command.
The “Anglo-Indian” Era: Creating the Indian Air Force
The Anglo-Indian community in British India was frequently misinterpreted.
They weren’t Indian enough for some Indians, and they weren’t English enough for many English. Their allegiances and even their skills were called into doubt.
However, the defense forces’ secular traditions did not question them. Rather, they were embraced and even honored. In the early years of the IAF, Anglo-Indian pilots were its spearhead. The first Anglo-Indians to receive Vir Chakras (VrC) were Flight Lieutenant MPO (Mickey) Blake and Flying Officer GD (Nobby) Clarke in Kashmir in 1948 itself.
Several significant air bases and fighter squadrons were commanded by Anglo-Indian officers in those precarious decades, including Group Captain WM Goodman, whose leadership earned him the Maha Vir Chakra in 1965—one of only two awards given to IAF officers in that war—and the 1962 Indo-China War, the 1965 Indo-Pak War, and the 1971 War for the liberation of Bangladesh.
The 1965 Heroism of Flight Lieutenant Alfred T. Cooke
There were other Anglo-Indian heroes in the 1965 conflict, but the Keelor brothers’ valor captured the attention of the Indian public. Among them was Flight Lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cooke, who is known as the “Savior of Kalaikunda,” a vital aviation base in Bengal that is located to the west of Kolkata.
Six ground-based aircraft were destroyed on September 7th, during a surprise dawn attack by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) at Kalaikunda. They deployed another wave of Sabre planes to do more damage a few hours later.
Flying Officer SC Mamgain and Flt Lt Cooke of the No. 14 Squadron IAF were patrolling the border between India and East Pakistan in Hunter jets.
Sensing that Kalaikunda would be the focus of PAF attention once more, Cooke hurried back to Kalaikunda, arriving just as six PAF Sabres were preparing to launch an attack, ignoring two bogus aircraft that were lingering near the boundary. Cooke pursued four Sabres despite being outnumbered, while Mamgain pursued the other two.
Cooke successfully knocked down a Sabre in a traditional mid-air battle, severely damaging another that crashed just inside East Pakistan. The remaining Sabres were forced to back off and turn back due to the intensity and skill of Cooke’s and Mamgain’s counterpunches.
Wing Commander Raghubir “Dicky” Law, the OC Flying for Kalaikunda, observed the duel from the air and recorded in his Action Report, “Flight Lieutenant Alfred Cooke, our overmatched base’s last man, rescued the day for Kalaikunda.”
Cooke and Mamgain received Vir Chakra awards.
Recalling Wine and Christmas Cakes
Similar admiration is expressed by Air Chief Marshal Tyagi for Group Captain PM (Pete) Wilson, who oversaw Jamnagar Air Base during Tyagi’s tenure there as a young flight lieutenant in 1968–1970. Pete Wilson would have been my response if you had asked me then what I wanted to be.
The renowned bomber pilot was inspired in 1971 as well as 1965, when he was awarded a Vir Chakra. Tyagi claims that his “unconventional” DNA, which is shared by a number of exceptionally intelligent Anglo-Indian officers, is what gave him the idea to light up a decoy strip away from the real airstrip in order to fool Pakistani bombers into thinking that they were targeting Jamnagar.
In the same era, the author’s father, Air Vice Marshal Kamal Khanna, flew Gnats and MiG-21s during his career as a fighter pilot.
He talks very fondly about his Anglo-Indian coworkers. He claims that in addition to being enjoyable to fly with, they were also a lot of fun to be around on the ground. We used to ‘bounce,’ or conduct a surprise home invasion, on all of our Anglo-Indian and Christian friends around Christmas and partake in multiple rounds of cake and wine. By the end, I would be rather inebriated, so one of them would have to drive me home to your mother.”
The Anglo-Indians’ and the IAF’s love affair petered out by the late 1960s and early 1970s. Migration to nations like England and Australia was perceived by the Anglo-Indian community throughout India as a step toward improved living conditions, increased employment prospects, and, for some, increased acceptance. Of course, the Indian Air Force was also impacted.
Though they went on to become Group Captains, “Mickey” Blake and “Nobby” Clarke, the gallant men who helped save Kashmir in 1948, decided to retire early and immigrate to Australia.
Group Captain “Pete” Wilson, Tyagi’s particular hero, relocated to England and eventually joined Scotland Yard. Three years after his valiant actions during the 1965 war, Alfred Cooke, the hero of Kalaikunda, hung up his boots and left for Australia.
Naturally, a few of them stayed and prospered in India. In 1984, Air Marshal MSD “Mally” Wollen, a war hero in 1965 and 1971, was appointed Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The Indian Air Force’s first Anglo-Indian commander was Air Chief Marshal Denis La Fontaine.
Thank you, Denzil Keelor, for everything!
The Keelor brothers, of course, never left either. After serving as the YMCA’s chairman for ten years, Denzil, then 68 years old, decided not to sit back and started Special Olympics Bharat in 2001 to help people with intellectual disabilities participate in athletics.
What, then, contributed these adventurous, pioneering, daring Anglo-Indians to the Indian Air Force? What kind of a legacy do they have?
Air Chief Marshal Tyagi puts it nicely: “Our Anglo-Indian pilots, men like Pete Wilson and Denzil Keelor, and so many others, they showed us that being a ‘Fighter Pilot’ was not just about the ability to fly, it was a ‘attitude’, a way to lead your life.”
Denzil Keelor’s departure marks a moment of reflection as he soars into the sunset, immortal in the annals of Indian Air Force history. We would like to thank him, his brother Trevor, and all Anglo-Indian pilots who have flown for the IAF, giving it their blood, guts, and lives. The Indian Air Force is now what it was molded into by them. We sincerely appreciate their assistance.
