A very scarce British Officer Burma Campaign & Indian Independence Medal group of 5: Captain 'Paddy' Lionel Herbert Keeler, Special List Quartermasters Indian Army late Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant 1st Battalion Wiltshire Regiment

- The 1939-1945 Star. No clasp
- The Burma Star. No clasp
- Defence Medal
- War Medal
- India: Independence Medal 1947 (EC -15917 W/Capt. L.H. Keeler.)

The rank officially impressed (Calcutta Mint) on the Independence Medal denotes the recipient 'War-Substantive Rank' of Captain

No.5568683 Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant L. H. Keeler was first commissioned as Quartermaster Lieutenant (EC-15917) The recipient who was latterly No. 5568683 Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant serving in the 1st Battalion Wiltshire Regiment of the British Army was first commissioned on 7 March 1945 when he was appointed an Emergency Commission (EC-15197) with rank of Lieutenant in the Special List of Quarter-Masters of the Indian Army

Medals Verification: Medal rolls for the Second World War and all post-1948 campaigns are not in the public domain, and hence are not accessible. However, the recipient is confirmed present in India throughout the period 1938-1948 per below following sources:

- The 1939-1945 Star. No clasp: Served India & Burma 1/Wilts No 5568683 RQMS (1 Wilts) 
- The Burma Star. No clasp: Served India & Burma 1/Wilts No 5568683 RQMS (1 Wilts)  
- Defence Medal: Awarded for 3 years aggregated overseas service in India with 1/Wilts 1939-1945  
- War Medal: Awarded for 28 days qualifying service anywhere 1939-45
- India Independence Medal 1947: Army List confirms service with Indian Army post August 1947

1st Battalion Wiltshire Regiment 1936-45: The 1st Battalion remained in British India (and later Burma) 1936-1945. During the early years of the Second World War the battalion, performed internal security duties. During the reorganization of the Burma front in 1943, the battalion became responsible for guarding the lines of communications and support for the Arakan offensive as part of the Eastern Army. The 1st Battalion, Wiltshires were transferred to the 4th Indian Infantry Brigade, which also included the 3rd Battalion, 9th Gurkha Rifles and 8th Battalion, 8th Punjab Regiment, part of 26th Indian Infantry Division, in October 1943. As part of higher formation 26th Indian Division, the 1st Wiltshires took part in the Battle of the Admin Box. Before General Slim's offensive to recapture Burma, 1st Wiltshires were rotated back to serve along the North-West Frontier. The battalion only embarked for return to the United Kingdom,in 1947

Lionel Herbert Keeler, son of Herbert Sidney Keeler (a Professional British Soldier) and Gertrude Emily Keeler (nee Hoctor, an Irish woman from Athlone, Ireland) was born in Cork, Ireland, on, 23 October 1907. Like his father before him, Lionel joined the British Army sometime during the inter-wat years, at which time he was posted to the Wiltshire Regiment, and allocated the unique Army number No.5568683, which was from the regimental block 5562001-5648000 that was allocated to the Wiltshire Regiment in 1920, and army numbers thereafter issued sequentially to all new enlistments posted to the regiment on joining the British Amy between 1920-1941

Not long after, 1st Battalion Wiltshire Regiment had arrived in British India in 1936, at the start of an 11 year posting in theatre, Lionel Keeler got married. On, 12 September 1938, 'Paddy' (his nickname derived from his birth in Cork, Ireland, in 1913) Keeler, who was then residing at Baird Barracks, Bangalore Cantonment, married Staff-Nurse Edith Gardiner (24 years of age), a Eurasian who worked at  the Government Isolation Hospital, Bangalore

'Paddy' Lionel Herbert Keeler, is recorded to have died at Brent, Middlesex, England, on, 8 December 1977

Condition: Mostly GVF

Code: 25478