Urquhart-Pullen, Geoffrey Roy

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Personal Information

Rank F/O
Forename(s) Geoffrey Roy
Surname Urquhart-Pullen
Gender M
Age 26
Date of Death 06-11-1956
Next of Kin Husband of Ellen Irene Urqhart-Pullen of 68 Albemarle Rd, Beckenham, Kent
URQUHART-PULLEN GR

Aircraft Information

Aircraft English Electric Canberra PR7
Serial Number WH799
Markings

Memorial Information

Burial/Memorial Country United Kingdom
Burial/Memorial Place Anglo-American Cemetery, Beirut, Lebanon
Grave Reference
Epitaph

IBCC Memorial Information

Phase Post-War
Panel Number POST (not yet erected on site)

Enlistment Information

Service Number 3511783
Service Royal Air Force
Group
Squadron 58
Squadron Motto Alis nocturnis (On the wings of the night)
Trade Navigator (Observer)
Country of Origin United Kingdom

Miscellaneous Information

F/L Hunter later commented: "At about the same time (that he decided to climb back into cloud cover), Sam Small warned of a pair of Meteors coming from port of starboard. I can't remember which. I had to turn into their attack... So there were three factors in this particular problem, none of which was helpful to the others as no matter where the Meteors were coming from, I had to turn towards them. It went on like this for a few minutes, which seemed like several hours, and during the first attack we did not get hit. Then Sam said almost immediately after the first attack, with us still climbing, that another pair were coming in, so we turned again. I turned towards them and that's when the starboard engine was hit. "I had been calling Roy, who was in the prone position to take photographs, to come back to the rumble seat (a spare seat alongside the pilot). He got the message, I think, but did not come back. Eventually, it got to the stage where I was rapidly losing control of the situation, one engine out, still burning. I told Sam to get out, to eject, and from the rear navigation position he ejected quite safely. We were still under attack and I started the desperate business of trying to get hold of Roy. I never did contact Roy on the R/T and, as far as I know, he must have gone back to the rear navigation position to try and eject. Since the ejection seat had gone, I assume he tried to bale out. I am not sure, but I think I heard a big thud on the aircraft which could have been Roy's body hitting the tail plane. I suspect it was. I then ejected. It seemed only seconds before I hit the ground and broke my left ankle. The sequence of events was very quick so I couldn't possibly estimate how low I was, but I remember thinking at the time, if I don't get out now I won't get out. I didn't know whether I got out over the Lebanon or not, my mind was revolving around the fact that if I'm in Syria they're not going to be very friendly". In fact they had landed on the Lebanese side (although the aircraft itself landed in Syria) and were initially set about by locals who thought he was Israeli, but an English-speaking teacher took them to the authorities.

Last Operation Information

Start Date 06-11-1956
End Date 06-11-1956
Takeoff Station Akrotiri
Day/Night Raid Day
Operation To monitor an apparent build-up of Soviet supplied combat aircraft in Syria as tensions rose in the Suez crisis.
Reason for Loss Aircraft was intercepted during a photo recce and shot down by a Syrian Air Force Gloster Meteor NF.13 (ironically supplied by the UK 18 months earlier) flown by Syrian AF pilots al-Garudry and al-Assasa, the latter being the CO of the sole SAF Meteor squadron. It crashed at Ammik Bekaa,Lebanon. F/O Urquhart-Pullen was killed attempting to bale out, but Flight Lieutenants Hunter (Pilot) and Small (passenger) ejected and after treatment in Beirut Military Hospital were later repatriated.

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Casualty Pack

IBCC is delighted to introduce a unique facility to link the Losses Database to the relevant RAF Casualty Pack on the National Archives website. This project is the result of on-going collaboration between IBCC, the MOD Records Office and National Archives, Kew. This document describes what Casualty Packs are, when they were created, the process of making them available to the public and then goes on to describe the process by which you can view the contents of the packs. Casualty Packs (CPs) were created by the RAF whenever there was serious injury or loss of life associated with operational activity within the RAF. This includes operational flying losses, enemy action due to air raids, road accidents either on station or even off-station if they involved RAF vehicles. Deaths due to natural causes in service or accidents that did not involve RAF vehicles did not generally give rise to a CP.

CPs were originally given a unique reference number by the RAF. Each begins with the letter ‘P’ and is followed by six digits, then an oblique (forward slash) and the finally the year in which the incident took place- for example P396154/42.

The CPs are in the process of being made available to the general public as they are passed from the MOD Records Office, Portsmouth to National Archives, Kew. This process requires some rework to the files which is very time consuming, so the process of making them all available to National Archives will take several years. They are being made available in increasing date order.

Once CPs arrive at National Archives they are assigned a unique AIR81 number, so each CP has both a P-number and an AIR81 number. Both are searchable on the National Archives website under ‘Search the catalogue’ and both are included on the IBCC website.

The AIR81 reference on the IBCC website is a link to the file on the National Archives website. When you click on it, the relevant page will open in a new tab on your browser.

There is currently no plan to digitise AIR81 files, partly because they are fragile and partly because the information they contain can at times be sensitive, even harrowing, since they may contain exhumation reports and even photographs of corpses. Family members wishing to read the AIR81 files relating to their ancestors are advised to exercise caution and be guided by National Archives warnings where appropriate.

There are two means for accessing AIR81 files- to attend in person or to order a copy by post.

To attend in person, the attendee should first create a Reader’s Ticket. This can be done online by following this link: https://secure.nationalarchives.gov.uk/login/yourdetails. Then click on the AIR81 reference on the IBCC website and click Order in Advance. Enter your Reader’s Ticket number and state the date on which you intend to visit. National Archives will have the file ready for you when you arrive, saving you time. When you visit Kew, you must quote the Reader’s Ticket number and take along two forms of ID- one bearing your signature and one bearing your address. When you view the files, you are permitted to take photographs of each page, should you wish.

Alternatively, if you wish to order a copy by post, please be aware that there is a charge for this service based on the number of pages in the file. Click on the AIR81 reference on the IBCC website and then click Request a Copy. There is an £8.40 charge for National Archives staff to access the file and give you a quotation for the copying service. The process takes around 24 days to complete and can be expensive.

IBCC wishes to thank the staff at the MOD Records Office and National Archives for their engagement and assistance in making this facility available to our website users.