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.
Leslie William Cannon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname(s) | "Bull" |
| Born | 9 April 1904 |
| Died | 27 January 1986 (aged 81) Princess Mary Hospital, RAF Halton, Buckinghamshire |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1920–58 |
| Rank | Air Vice-Marshal |
| Commands held | Commander-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) |
| Battles/wars | North-West Frontier Second World War |
| Awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire Mentioned in dispatches (4) Silver Star (United States) |
| Spouse(s) | Beryl Heyworth |
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
- PAF s' Chief of Air Staffs
- Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Vice Marshal L W Cannon