Air Mech. William John McKivett

William was born in Brentwood on 20th June 1880 the son of a baker called John. John would change careers to become a Laundryman, a profession that William himself would later follow.

On Christmas Eve 1911 he married Evelyn and they went on to have four children together.

He was called up for the first world war in 1917, while his wife was still pregnant with their fourth child, and joined the Royan Naval Air Service as an engineer. The RNAS was a fore-runner of the RAF. He first trained at President II, a main base for the RNAS, and in April 1918 he transfered to the Cattewater Seaplane Station in Plymouth. The Cattewater Seaplane Station was a seaplane base, and William would have been involved in the maintenance and repair of the seaplanes there.

Sadly he died accidentally while he was trying to climb a cliff and lost his grip.