View source for Air Vice Marshall L W Cannon

Biography

Research by Joan West

Air Vice Marshall "Bill" Cannon, his wife, "Tiddler" and her companion, Joyce, moved into Cairndale, Main Road, Lacey Green, when Bill retired from his position of senior representative of Rolls Royce Ltd in the Indian sub-continent.   They were there at the time of partition of India and Pakistan.   After the grand accommodation they had enjoyed abroad Cairndale, though an attractive house, must have seemed very small.   They laughingly called it their 'dolls house'.   It didn't seem to worry them.   However in 1965 they sold the house to Ursula and Derek Glyn-Jones, moving into a much larger property at Penn.

Hilda West related that Indira Ghandi had been a guest of theirs' at Cairndale.

I do not know when they bought the house, but they had been there a few years when I met them in 1961.   They were friends with my husband John's parents Dick and Hilda West, who lived opposite at Stocken. 




AIR VICE MARSHAL LESLIE WILLIAM CANNON RETIRED TO “CAIRNDALE” MAIN ROAD, LACEY GREEN                                                                   

1920 JOINED RAF, BOY MECHANIC, no 2 TECHNICAL TRAINING, CRANWELL

1932 ENGINEERING OFFICER, RAF CRANWELL

1932 ENGINEERING OFFICER, HQ RAF INDIA

1935 FLIGHT COMMANDER, No.60 SQUADRON

1937 OFFICER COMMANDING, No.5 SQUADRON, NORTHWEST FRONTIER, INDIA

1938 ADMIN/PERSONNEL STAFF, HQ TRAINING COMMAND

1939 STAFF, DIRECTORATE of OPERATIONS (HOME)

1940 WING COMMANDER, ENG. STAFF OFFICER, HQ BOMBER COMMAND

1941 CHIEF TECHNICAL OFFICER, HQ No 21 GROUP

1942 OFFICER COMMANDING, RAF WATTON

1943(Mar) DEPUTY S.A.S.O. HQ No 83 COMPOSITE GROUP

1943(Nov) OFFICER COMMANDING No 138 WING

1943(Dec) SOA, HQ No 2 GROUP

1944 AOA, HQ No 2 GROUP

1946 GROUP CAPTAIN, AOC, No 2 GROUP

1948 ASSISTANT COMMANDANT, RAF STAFF COLLEGE, ANDOVER

1949 AIR COMMODORE, DIRECTOR of ORGANISATION (ESTABLISHMENT)

1951-55 ACTING AIR VICE MARSHAL, COMMANDER in-CHIEF, ROYAL PAKISTAN AIRFORCE.   (1953 made AIR VICE MARSHAL).

1955 DIRECTOR-GENERAL of ORGANISATION.

He continued to fly on operations as OFFICER COMMANDING, WATTON and AOA, 2 GROUP with both the RAF and USAAF, for which he was AWARDED the US SILVER STAR.

He represented the RAF in athletics, boxing and pistol shooting.

ON RETIRING from the RAF, he RETURNED to the INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT as SENIOR REPRESENTATIVE of ROLLS ROYCE LTD.

He was the first apprentice to ATTAIN the RANK OF AIR VICE MARSHAL.

HONOURED 1952 COMPANION of the ORDER OF THE BATH

HONOURED 1945 CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire)

MENTIONED in DESPATCHES, Feb 1938, Sept. 1941, Jan. 1945, Jan 1946

           

{{Social Snapshot
|Year=1965
|Village=Lacey Green
|Theme=The Cannons leave Cairndale
|Socialperiod=Category:1960's
}}