Chester HULL

HULL, Chester
Lt. Gen. A. (Ret'd), CMM, DFC, CD
Born April 19, 1919 in Edinburgh, Scotland; died in Belleville, Ontario, April 9, 2012. Survived by his wife of over 71 years, Jane (Currier), and children Brian (Terry), Diana and Sally, and grandchildren Thomas and Lucus Morison. Chester attended the Royal Military College in Kingston where he rose to become "top" cadet as Battalion Sgt. Major (BSM). He and his classmates graduated early in October 1939 in order to serve in World War II. He elected to follow in his father's footsteps and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). He saw distinguished service overseas as a bomber pilot in 420 and 428 Squadrons and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his skill and valour and became Senior Operations Controller of 6 Group (RCAF) RAF Bomber Command as a Group Captain while still only 25 years old. When the war ended he chose to stay in the RCAF with appointments in Ottawa, staff college in Toronto, and, in 1947 he became Commanding Officer (CO) of RCAF Clinton. Following further staff assignments in Ottawa, he became Base Commander and founding commander of No. 3 (Fighter) Wing in Zweibrucken, Germany. Returning to Canada in 1956, he had assignments in St. Hubert and Ottawa. In 1962, he was appointed Chief of Staff of Air Defence Command (ADC) in St. Hubert, with the rank of Air Commodore. For a short time, he served as Air Officer Commanding (AOC) of ADC before promotion to Air Vice Marshall in 1967 as AOC of Air Transport Command, Trenton. In 1972, following unification of the forces, he was appointed Lieutenant General and Vice Chief of the Defence Staff. Ches retired from the Canadian Armed Forces in 1974 after 41 years of illustrious service and shortly thereafter was awarded the Croix de Guerre with Silver Star for his wartime assistance to the Free French Forces. In civilian life, he served as National Commissioner of the Boy Scouts of Canada, president of the Quinte Arts Council and a founding influence in the launching of, initially, the RCAF Memorial Museum. At CFB Trenton, he held the appointment of honorary colonel from 1998 until 2003. He served as chair of the Bomber Harris Trust, established to defend the outstanding heroism and service to country of Canadian members of RAF Bomber Command. Much travelled, a life-time gardener and an avid reader, he continued to contribute to the lives of those around him to his very last breath. He was much loved and will be sadly missed. Services entrusted to BURKE FUNERAL HOME, Belleville (613-968-6968). Visitation will be held at CFB Trenton 8-Wing Chapel on Friday, April 13, 2012 from noon to 1 p.m. Memorial Service to follow at 1 p.m. Padre Sid Horne and Major (Rev.) Tracy Graf officiating. As expressions of sympathy, donations to the British Columbia Schizophrenia Society or Charity of your Choice would be appreciated. Online condolences at burkefuneral.ca