Robert Hilborn Falls
{{Infobox military person
|name= Robert Hilborn Falls
|image= Admiral Robert Hilborn Falls.jpg
|image_size=
|alt=
|caption= Falls in 1978
|nickname=
|birth_date= {{birth date|1924|04|29}}
|birth_place= Welland, Ontario, Canada
|death_date= {{death date and age|2009|11|06|1924|04|29}}
|death_place= Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
|placeofburial=
|allegiance= Canada
|branch= Royal Canadian Air Force (1942–45)
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (1945)
Royal Canadian Navy (1945–68)
Canadian Forces Maritime Command (1968–83)
|serviceyears= 1942–1980
|rank= Admiral
|servicenumber=
|unit=
|commands= Chairman of the NATO Military Committee
Chief of Defence Staff
Vice Chief of the Defence Staff
Canadian Flotilla Atlantic
{{HMCS|Bonaventure|CVL 22|6}}
{{HMCS|Chaudière|DDE 235|6}}
|battles= World War II
|awards= Commander of the Order of Military Merit
Canadian Forces' Decoration
|spouse= Isabelle Urie
|relations=
|laterwork= President of the Canadian Centre for Arms Control and Disarmament (now the Canadian Council for International Peace and Security)
}}
Admiral Robert Hilborn Falls, {{post-nominals|country=CAN|size=100|sep=,|CMM|CD}} (April 24, 1924 – November 6, 2009) was Chief of Defence Staff of the Canadian Forces from 1977 to 1980.
Military career
Falls first joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942 as a pilot and later transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy after World War II. He served as commander of the Canadian Flotilla Atlantic, as Vice Chief of the Defence Staff from 1974 to 1977, as Chief of Defence Staff of the Canadian Forces from 1977 to 1980, and as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 1980 to 1983.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Hillmer |first=Norman |title=Robert Hilborn Falls |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |date=15 December 2013 |publisher=Historica Canada |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/robert-hilborn-falls |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311025455/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0002715|url-status=live |archive-date=March 11, 2007}}
Falls later became president of the Canadian Centre for Arms Control and Disarmament (now the Canadian Council for International Peace and Security).{{cite news|url=http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/Deaths.20091109.93213444/BDAStory/BDA/deaths|title=Deaths: Admiral Robert Hilborn Falls|date=2009-11-09|publisher=The Globe and Mail|accessdate=20 October 2011}}
Awards and decorations
Falls' personal awards and decorations received during his naval career include the following:
{{center|
}}
| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto" | ||
| style="background:Navy;color:White" align="center"
|Ribbon | Description | Notes |
| 80px | Commander of the Order of Military Merit (CMM) | *Appointed on 26 January 1976{{cite web|url=https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/150-51 |title=Order of Military Merit List|publisher=The Governor General of Canada}} |
| 80px | Canadian Volunteer Service Medal | *WWII 1939-1945 with Overseas Service bar |
| 80px | War Medal 1939–1945 | *WWII 1939-1945 |
| {{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-leaf|ribbon=Special_Service_Medal_Ribbon.png|width=80}} | Special Service Medal | *with NATO-OTAN Clasp |
| 80px | Canadian Centennial Medal | *Decoration awarded in 1967 |
| 80px | Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal | *Decoration awarded in 1977
|
| {{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-|ribbon=CD-ribbon_and_2_bars.png|width=80}} | Canadian Forces' Decoration (CD) | *with two Clasp for 32 years of services |
- File:Rcaf Flight wings.png He was a qualified RCAF Pilot and as such wore the Royal Canadian Forces Pilot Wings
References
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box|title=Vice Chief of the Defence Staff|before=A.C. Hull|after=R.M. Withers|years=1974–1977}}
|-
{{succession box|title=Chief of the Defence Staff|before=J.A. Dextraze|after=R.M. Withers|years=1977–1980}}
{{s-end}}
{{Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)}}
{{Chairmen of the NATO Military Committee}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falls, Robert Hilborn}}
Category:Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Canada)
Category:Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II
Category:NATO military personnel