The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
|
| Previous: Puget Sound | Table of Contents | Next: Purnell, William R. |
Australian War Memorial #040533
Pulford was originally commissioned in the Royal Navy,
where he won the 1919 Dunning Cup for experimental work on
airborne torpedo
attacks. He transferred to the Royal Air Force in 1920. He was
decorated in 1926 for leading the RAF Cape Flight of four Fairey
IIIDs in a record setting flight
from Cairo to Cape Town.
Pulford was already in poor health when he appointed air
vice marshal in command of
RAF Far East
Command in March 1941. Witnesses report that he was near mental collapse by the
time Singapore fell. He was
authorized to escape from Singapore on 5 February 1942, but
delayed ten days, finally departing in a motor boat with nineteen
other high-ranking officers and staff.
The
group was stranded on Tjebia Island (105.268E
1.211S), and Pulford perished
from exhaustion and malaria.
| 1892 |
Born |
|
| 1905 |
Naval cadet |
|
| 1910 |
Midshipman |
BB Russell |
| 1912-9-15 |
Acting
sublieutenant |
BC Lion |
| 1914-12-15 |
Lieutenant |
CV Ark Royal |
| 1915-3-26 |
Flight lieutenant |
RNAS Chingford |
| 1916-6-30 |
Flight commander |
CV Ark Royal |
| 1917-12-31 |
Squadron commander |
|
| 1918-14-1 |
Major |
|
| 1919-8-1 |
Squadron leader |
210 Squadron |
| 1920-9-28 |
Commander, 210 Squadron |
|
| 1922-4-3 |
RAF Staff College |
|
| 1923-5-1 |
Directorate of Training |
|
| 1925-7-1 |
Wing commander |
|
| 1925-8-17 |
HQ Coastal Area |
|
| 1925-11-6 |
Commander, RAF Cape Flight |
|
| 1926-9-1 |
Officer Commanding - Flying, CV Furious |
|
| 1929-1-14 |
Imperial Defense College |
|
| 1929-12-15 |
Commander, 7 Squadron |
|
| 1931-4-9 |
Commander, RAF Bircham Newton |
|
| 1932-7-1 |
Group captain |
|
| 1932-11-4 |
Commander, RAF Heliopolis |
|
| 1934-10-1 |
Commander, Air Armament School |
|
| 1936-7-1 |
Air commander |
|
| 1936-9-14 |
Superintendent of the Reserve |
|
| 1937-12 |
Commander, 26 (Training) Group |
|
| 1938-8-15 |
Director, Volunteer Reserve Expansion |
|
| 1939-4-1 |
Air vice marshal |
|
| 1939-8-31 |
HQ Reserve Command |
|
| 1941-3-6 |
Commander, RAF Far East Command | |
| 1942-3-10
|
Dies from exposure |
References
Barrass (2012-8-24; accessed 2014-3-8)
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2008, 2010, 2014-2015 by Kent G. Budge. Index
