Peter Furniss

DFC
Born(1919-07-16)16 July 1919
West Kirby, Cheshire, England
Died11 December 2005(2005-12-11) (aged 86)
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
 Royal Air Force
Years of service1938 - 1946
1950 - 1982
RankAir Vice-Marshal
Service number47829
Battles/warsWorld War II
*Battle of Tunisia
*Allied invasion of Sicily
*Allied invasion of Italy
AwardsDistinguished Flying Cross (1944)

Air Vice-Marshal Peter Furniss, DFC (16 July 1919 – 11 December 2005) was a British solicitor and senior Royal Air Force officer. He served as Director of Legal Services (RAF) and head of the RAF Legal Branch from 1978 to 1982.[1][2]

Early life

Furniss was born on 16 July 1919 in West Kirby, Cheshire (now Merseyside), England.[1] He was the youngest of nine children born to a solicitor.[1][2] He was educated at Sedbergh School, a public boarding school in Cumbria.[2] At school, he excelled at sport,[1] and became a cadet corporal in the Junior Division of the Officers' Training Corps.[3]

Early career and war service

After leaving school, Furniss became an articled clerk at a solicitors firm in Liverpool.[2] In 1938, he joined the Liverpool Scottish, a Territorial Army regiment affiliated to the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, as a soldier.[1]

With World War II looking likely, he left the solicitors firm without completing his training contract to commence officer training.[1] He was commissioned into the British Army as a second lieutenant on 3 May 1939.[3] On 31 January 1942, he was granted the rank of pilot officer (temporary) while serving with the Royal Air Force.[4] He was promoted to flying officer (war substantive) on 1 October 1942.[5] Having transferred to the RAF, he underwent training as a tactical reconnaissance pilot.[1] In March 1943, he joined No. 241 Squadron RAF in Tunisia. With them he flew a Hurricane as part of reconnaissance support for the First Army during the Battle of Tunisia.[1]

After victory occurred in North Africa in May 1943, he transferred to No. 154 Squadron RAF based in Malta to fly Spitfires.[1] From the island, he undertook patrols during the Allied invasion of Sicily from July to August 1943.[1] He was wounded when his Spitfire was attacked by a German fighter plane during a landing onto an allied airstrip in Malta.[2] He flew patrols during the Allied invasion of Italy and on 9 September he shot down a German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 over Salerno.[1] He also shared in the destruction of a Dornier Do 217 bomber.[1] He was promoted to flight lieutenant (war substantive) on 31 January 1944.[6]

Honours and decorations

On 29 December 1944, Furniss was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC).[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Air Vice-Marshal Peter Furniss". The Daily Telegraph. 3 January 2006. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Ross, Harry (5 January 2006). "Peter Furniss". Liverpool Daily Post. ISSN 0962-7553. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  3. 1 2 "No. 34621". The London Gazette. 2 May 1939. p. 2922. ISSN 0374-3721
  4. ↑ "No. 35476". The London Gazette. 3 March 1942. p. 1016. ISSN 0374-3721
  5. ↑ "No. 35791". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 November 1942. p. 5035. ISSN 0374-3721
  6. ↑ "No. 36361". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 February 1944. p. 629. ISSN 0374-3721
  7. ↑ "No. 36863". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 December 1944. p. 5954. ISSN 0374-3721
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