Allan Perry-Keene

Air Vice Marshal Allan Perry-Keene CB OBE
Official portrait, c. 1947
1st Air Officer Commanding Royal Pakistan Air Force
In office 15 August 1947 – 17 February 1949
Preceded by	Office Established
Succeeded by	Richard Atcherley
Air Officer-in-Charge of Administration Air Headquarters India
In office 19 December 1946 – 14 August 1947
Preceded by	Hugh Walmsley
Personal details
Born	Allan Lancelot Addison Perry-Keene (1898-11-10)10 November 1898 Ryton, Tyne and Wear, Gateshead, England
Died	16 March 1987(1987-03-16) (aged 88) Andover, Hampshire, England
Resting place	St Peter Churchyard, St Mary Bourne, England
Spouse	Katrine Lucy Silberrad ​ ​ (m. 1923; died 1986)​
Children	2
Education	King Edward's School, Birmingham RAF Staff College, Andover
Military service
Branch/service	Royal Flying Corps (1917)  Royal Air Force (1918)
Years of service	1917–1949
Rank	Air Vice Marshal
Unit	Royal Norfolk Regiment (1917-18) No. 98 Squadron RAF No. 115 Squadron RAF No. 274 Squadron RAF No. 207 Squadron RAF No. 100 Squadron RAF No. 7 Squadron RAF
Commands	Royal Pakistan Air Force
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Mohmand campaign of 1935 Indo-Pakistani war of 1947–1948
Awards	See list
Service number	27474 (1917) 08036 (1918)

Allan Lancelot Addison Perry-Keene (10 November 1898 – 16 March 1987) simply known as Allan Perry-Keene or A.L.A. Perry-Keene, was a senior Royal Air Force officer who served as the first Air Officer Commanding of the Royal Pakistan Air Force from 1947 to 1949.

Early life

Born on 10 November 1898, Allan was the first child of Lancelot Henry Addison Perry-Keene and Mabel. Allan had two brothers, Harry and John, and two sisters, Margaret and Eleanor; Eleanor and John were twins.^[1]

Allan received his early education in Wolverley at a local school before graduating from King Edward's School, Birmingham.

Personal life

In November 1922, Allan became engaged to Katerine "Rene" Lucy Sillberrad, the only daughter of C.A. Silberrad who was in the Indian Civil Service.^[2] On 12 September 1923, he married her at the Church of St Peter ad Vincula, Combe Martin.^[3] They had two daughters.^[4]

Service years

Royal Flying Corps

He enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps on 7 June 1917 and served as a pilot during World War I in France from 1918 to 1919.

Royal Air Force

He transferred to the Royal Air Force, which formed on 1 April 1918. Beginning his career as a pilot at No. 98 Sqn, followed by a stint at No. 115 Sqn in the same year. On the 12 September 1919, he received Short Service Commission and was appointed as a Flying Officer.^[5] He continued his service as a pilot, joining No. 274 Sqn on 19 November 1919, and No. 207 Squadron on the 1st of February 1920. He transitioned to become a test pilot at the Instrument Design Establishment on 20 October 1920.

On the 10th of January 1922, he took up the role of an instructor at No. 6 Flying Training School. He then became a supernumerary at the School of Technical Training (Men) on the 1st of April 1922. Returning to operational duties, he served as a pilot at No. 100 Sqn from the 9th of May 1922 until the 9th of July 1923, when he transferred to No. 7 Sqn.^[6]

The Royal Aero Club elected several new members including Perry-Keene on 20 February 1924.^[7] From 4 August 1925 to 16 February 1926, he attended the Armament Officer's Course at the Armament and Gunnery School, Eastchurch^[8] and flew in the Grosvenor Cup at Lympne on 18 September 1926.^[9]

On 1 April 1927, Flight Lieutenant Perry-Keene was appointed to RAF Practice Camp, North Coates, Fitties.^[10] On 31 October, he was appointed to RAF Depot Uxbridge^[11] and on 2 December, he was appointed to Aircraft Depot in Iraq.^[11] He attended the No. 11th course at the RAF Staff College, Andover on 23 January 1933.^[12]

On 23 January 1942, he was first appointed Senior Air Staff Officer at No. 221 Group Headquarters in Burma and then to Air Headquarters, Bengal on 20 April 1942.^[13]

He succeeded Hugh Walmsley as Air Officer-in-Charge of Administration at Air Headquarters India on 29 November 1946 or 19 December 1946.^[14]

Royal Pakistan Air Force

Air Vice Marshal Perry-Keene was appointed after correspondence between Jinnah and Louis Mountbatten, after Mountbatten, Hugh Walmsley, and Field Marshal Auchinleck agreed that he was the best candidate for the position.^[15]

Later life and death

In his later years, Perry-Keene wrote an autobiography titled Reflected Glory – An Autobiography, privately published in 1978.^[16]

Allan died on 16 March 1987, at the age of 88.^[4]

Publications

Flight-Lieutenant A.L.A. Perry-Keene (January 1932). THE R.A.F. IS NOT ALL WORK. Vol. 3. Gale & Polden, Royal Air Force Quarterly. p. 476-481.

Radio broadcast

Group Captain A.L.A. Perry-Keene (1941). Non-operational Flying. Indian Information.

Awards and decorations

• Officer of the Order of the British Empire (1940)
• Mentioned in Despatches (1943)
• Companion of the Order of the Bath (1947)

Dates of rank

Insignia	Rank	Date
	Air Vice Marshal	29 November 1946
	Air Commodore	1 June 1943 (temporary)[17] 1 October 1946[18]
	Group Captain	1 September 1940 (temporary) 23 July 1942 (War substantive) 1 December 1943
	Wing Commander	1 October 1937[19]
	Squadron Leader	1 February 1934
	Flight Lieutenant	1 January 1924
	Flying Officer	1 August 1919
	Lieutenant	1 April 1918[20]
	Second Lieutenant	7 June 1917 (temporary) 14 January 1918 (temporary)[21]

Military offices
Preceded by RPAF established	AOC of the RPAF 1947–1949	Succeeded by Richard Atcherley

References

1. "WE REMEMBER ALLAN LANCELOT ADDISON PERRY-KEENE". Imperial War Museum.
2. The Near East. Vol. 22. 16 November 1922. p. 634.
3. "Personal Notices: Marriages". The Aeroplane. 26 September 1923.
4. "Obituary: Air Vice-Marshal A.L.A. Perry-Keene". The Times. 20 March 1987. p. 14.
5. The Monthly Air Force List: September. H.M. Stationery Office. 1919. p. 304.
6. "Air Vice Marshal A L A Perry Keene (08036)". www.rafweb.org.
7. "The Royal Aero Club Of The U.K.: Official Notices To Members". Flight. 1925. p. 118.
8. Flight. Vol. 17. IPC Transport Press Limited. 1925. pp. 479, 543, 551.
9. Joseph Jackson, Aubrey (1978). De Havilland aircraft since 1909. Putnam. p. 204. ISBN 978-0-370-30022-1.
10. "The Royal Air Force: Appointments". Flight. 12 May 1927. p. 299.
11. "Royal Air Force Intelligence". Flight. 17 November 1927. p. 803, 873.
12. "Royal Air Force Intelligence". Flight. 9 February 1933. p. 137.
13. The Aeroplane. Vol. 72. Temple Press. 1947. p. 9.
14. Indian Information. 1947. p. 229.
15. Quaid-I-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah Papers: On the Threshold of Pakistan 1 July-25 July 1947. Quaid-I-Azam Papers Project, National Archives of Pakistan. 1996. ISBN 978-969-8156-03-9.
16. "Handlist of papers: P". Archived from the original on 25 December 2007. Retrieved 29 December 2007.
17. The Air Force List: July. H.M. Stationery Office. 1944. p. 134.
18. The Air Force List: April. 1951. p. 429.
19. The Air Force List: April. H.M. Stationery Office. 1939. p. 157.
20. Great Britain Air Ministry (1919). Monthly Air Force List. Her Majesty's Stationery Office. p. 28.
21. The London Gazette. Tho. Newcomb over against Baynards Castle in Thamse-street. 1918. p. 1806.