Pullen, H.F. (Hugh Francis), 1905-1983

Hugh Francis Pullen was born 9 July 1905 at Oakville, Ont. and entered the Royal Naval College at Esquimalt, B.C. in 1920. He spent two years at sea with the Canadian Pacific Steamships and rejoined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1924. In 1944 he received the Order of the British Empire for his services while commanding a convoy escort group. He retired from the navy in 1960, his last appointment as flag officer Atlantic Coast, Maritime commander Atlantic, and commander Atlantic Sub-Area (NATO), 1957-1960. Rear-Admiral Pullen held executive positions in several voluntary organizations such as the United Appeal, The Royal Commonwealth Society, The Royal Life-Saving Society of Canada, the Canadian Mental Health Society, and the Anglican Church of Canada. In 1960 he was chairman for the World Refugee Campaign in Nova Scotia, and also served as a member of the National Council of the Duke of Edinburgh's Awards, 1963-1969. Pullen was awarded the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) and the Canadian Forces Decoration (C.D.) for his services.

Pullen was a co-founder of the Maritime Museum of Canada in 1948 (now Maritime Museum of the Atlantic), and was a member of the Advisory Council of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and the Halifax Grammar School. He was also first commodore of the Nova Scotia Schooner Association and a member of the Society for Nautical Research and the Navy Records Society. He was the author of several books and articles on Maritime history. Among his best known works are 'Atlantic Schooners' (1967), 'The Shannon and the Chesapeake' (1970), and 'The Pullen Expedition' (1979), for which he won the John Lyman Book Award in 1980 from the North American Society for Oceanic History. H.F. Pullen died 4 May 1983 in England. He was married to Helen (MacKean); they had seven children.

• English