Percy Bernard, 5th Earl of Bandon


The Earl of Bandon

Air Vice Marshal the Earl of Bandon, Air Officer Commanding No. 224 Group at his Headquarters at Akyab, Burma.
Nickname(s)Paddy
Born(1904-08-30)30 August 1904
Gillingham, England
Died8 February 1979(1979-02-08) (aged 74)
Bon Secours Hospital, Cork, Ireland
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
BranchRoyal Air Force
Years of service1922–64
RankAir Chief Marshal
CommandsAllied Air Forces Central Europe (1961–63)
Far East Air Force (1957–60)
Second Tactical Air Force (1956–57)
No. 11 Group (1951–53)
No. 2 Group (1950–51)
Royal Observer Corps (1945–49)
No. 224 Group (1944–45)
RAF Horsham St Faith (1942)
RAF West Raynham (1941)
RAF Watton (1940–41)
No. 82 Squadron (1940)
Battles / warsSecond World War
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
Distinguished Service Order
Mentioned in Despatches (3)
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Bronze Star Medal (United States)

Air Chief Marshal Percy Ronald Gardner Bernard, 5th Earl of Bandon, GBE, CB, CVO, DSO (30 August 1904 – 8 February 1979) was an Anglo-Irish aristocrat who served as a senior commander in the Royal Air Force in the mid-20th century. He was a squadron, station and group commander during the Second World War, and the fifth Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps after the war. He was awarded the American Distinguished Flying Cross and Bronze Star Medal in 1946.