Air Vice-Marshal
Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...
Peter Furniss,
DFC (16 July 191911 December 2005) was a British
solicitor and senior
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
officer. He served as Director of Legal Services (RAF) and head of the
RAF Legal Branch
The Royal Air Force Legal Branch (RAFLB) or Directorate Legal Services (DLS) - as it is better known - is the uniformed legal service provider for the Royal Air Force. It consists of solicitors and barristers qualified in a Commonwealth jurisd ...
from 1978 to 1982.
Early life
Furniss was born on 16 July 1919 in
West Kirby
West Kirby is a resort town on the north-west corner of the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England, at the mouth of the River Dee. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Cheshire, to the north-east lies Hoylake, to the east Grange ...
,
Cheshire (now
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...
), England.
He was the youngest of nine children born to a solicitor.
He was educated at
Sedbergh School
Sedbergh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, in North West England. It comprises a junior school for children aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. I ...
, a
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...
boarding school in
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...
.
At school, he excelled at sport,
and became a
cadet corporal in the Junior Division of the
Officers' Training Corps
The Officers' Training Corps (OTC), more fully called the University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), are military leadership training units operated by the British Army. Their focus is to develop the leadership abilities of their members whilst ...
.
Early career and war service
After leaving school, Furniss became an
articled clerk
Articled clerk is a title used in Commonwealth countries for one who is studying to be an accountant or a lawyer. In doing so, they are put under the supervision of someone already in the profession, now usually for two years, but previously three ...
at a solicitors firm in Liverpool.
In 1938, he joined the
Liverpool Scottish
The Liverpool Scottish, known as "the Scottish", was a unit of the British Army, part of the Army Reserve (formerly the Territorial Army), raised in 1900 as an infantry battalion of the King's (Liverpool Regiment). The Liverpool Scottish became af ...
, a
Territorial Army regiment affiliated to the
Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders or 79th (The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. It amalgamated with the Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Al ...
, as a soldier.
With
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
looking likely, he left the solicitors firm without completing his
training contract
A training contract is a compulsory period of practical training in a law firm for law graduates before they can qualify as a solicitor in the United Kingdom (UK), the Republic of Ireland, Australia or Hong Kong, or as an advocate and solicitor ...
to commence
officer training
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...
.
He was
commissioned into the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
as a
second lieutenant on 3 May 1939.
[ ] On 31 January 1942, he was granted the rank of
pilot officer (temporary) while serving with the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
.
[ ] He was promoted to
flying officer (
war substantive
Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a m ...
) on 1 October 1942.
[ ] Having transferred to the RAF, he underwent training as a
tactical reconnaissance pilot.
In March 1943, he joined
No. 241 Squadron RAF in
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
. With them he flew a
Hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
as part of reconnaissance support for the
First Army during the
Battle of Tunisia
The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. T ...
.
After victory occurred in North Africa in May 1943, he transferred to
No. 154 Squadron RAF based in
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
to fly
Spitfires
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...
.
From the island, he undertook patrols during the
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It b ...
from July to August 1943.
He was wounded when his Spitfire was attacked by a German fighter plane during a landing onto an allied airstrip in Malta.
He flew patrols during the
Allied invasion of Italy
The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied amphibious landing on mainland Italy that took place from 3 September 1943, during the Italian campaign of World War II. The operation was undertaken by General Sir Harold Alexander's 15th Army ...
and on 9 September he shot down a German
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 over
Salerno.
He also shared in the destruction of a
Dornier Do 217 bomber.
He was promoted to
flight lieutenant (war substantive) on 31 January 1944.
[ ]
Honours and decorations
On 29 December 1944, Furniss was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC).
[ ]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Furniss, Peter
British solicitors
Royal Air Force air marshals
1919 births
2005 deaths
People from West Kirby
People educated at Sedbergh School
Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders officers
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
Royal Air Force pilots of World War II
British World War II fighter pilots
Military personnel from Cheshire
Liverpool Scottish soldiers
British Army personnel of World War II
Liverpool Scottish officers