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Leslie William Cannon

RAF Air Vice Marshal From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Air Vice-Marshal Leslie William Cannon, CB, CBE (9 April 1904 – 27 January 1986) was a senior Royal Air Force officer. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Pakistan Air Force from 1951 to 1955.

Nickname"Bull"
Born(1904-04-09)9 April 1904
Died27 January 1986(1986-01-27) (aged 81)
Princess Mary Hospital, RAF Halton, Buckinghamshire
Quick facts Nickname, Born ...
Leslie William Cannon
Nickname"Bull"
Born(1904-04-09)9 April 1904
Died27 January 1986(1986-01-27) (aged 81)
Princess Mary Hospital, RAF Halton, Buckinghamshire
Buried
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch
Royal Air Force
Service years
1920–58
Rank
Air Vice-Marshal
CommandsCommander-in-Chief Royal Pakistan Air Force (1951–55)
RAF Staff College, Andover (1948–49)
No. 85 Group (1946–47)
No. 2 Group (1946)
No. 138 Wing (1943)
RAF Watton (1942–43)
No. 5 Squadron (1937–38)
Conflicts
North-West Frontier
Second World War
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Mentioned in dispatches (4)
Silver Star (United States)
SpouseBeryl Heyworth
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Military career

Cannon enlisted in the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the second entry of aircraft apprentices in 1920, and was commissioned as a pilot in 1925.

From 1948 until late 1949, Cannon was Assistant Commandant and then Commandant of the RAF Staff College, Andover.

He served as a Flight Commander in No. 60 Squadron RAF and then Officer Commanding No. 5 Squadron RAF on the North-West Frontier of India in the 1930s. Eventually attaining the rank of air vice-marshal (the first apprentice to achieve air rank), he served as Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Pakistan Air Force from 7 May 1951 to 19 June 1955.

References

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