Keith Coster, Date of Birth, Date of Death

Keith Coster

Rhodesian Army general

Date of Birth: 19-Apr-1920

Date of Death: 05-Jun-2012

Profession: aircraft pilot

Nationality: South Africa

Zodiac Sign: Aries

Lieutenant General Keith Robert Coster ID OBE SSAS (19 April 1920 – 5 June 2012) was a South African army officer who rose to command the Rhodesian Army from 1968 to 1972. Keith Robert Coster was born on 19 April 1920 in Eshowe, Kwa-Zulu-Natal, South Africa.
He was educated at Maritzburg College, in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
After his matriculation at the school in 1936, he enlisted in the Special Service Battalion of the Union Defence Force (UDF) (of South Africa), and was commissioned into the South African Air Force (SAAF) on 6 September 1939.
While flying a Mohawk V with 5 Squadron SAAF, he was shot down over North Africa by a Luftwaffe fighter plane, a Bf109, on 11 July 1942 and was a prisoner of war until 4 May 1945.