Leslie William Cannon

Leslie William Cannon
Nickname(s)	"Bull"
Born	9 April 1904
Died	27 January 1986 (aged 81) Princess Mary Hospital, RAF Halton, Buckinghamshire
Buried at	Penn, Buckinghamshire
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	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 Despatches (4) Silver Star (United States)
Spouse(s)	Beryl Heyworth

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 1952 to 1955.

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