John Allan (Canadian naval officer)


John Allan CMM CD was a Canadian Forces officer who served as Commander of Maritime Command from 1979 to 1980.

Career

Allan joined the Royal Canadian Navy as an Ordinary Seaman in 1946. He left the RCN in 1952 as a Petty Officer 2nd class. The next year, he re-enrolled as an Officer Cadet and was commissioned as an acting sub-lieutenant in 1954. He continued his studies at Queen’s University, graduating in 1955.. He became commanding offficer of the destroyer escort in 1968, project manager of the DDH 280 Program at National Defence Headquarters in 1970 and Commander First Canadian Destroyer Squadron in 1973. He went on to be Chief of Staff in 1974, Director General Maritime Engineering and Maintenance in 1975 and Associate Assistant Deputy Minister Materiel in 1977. His last appointments were as Commander Maritime Command in 1979, in which role he claimed that budget cutbacks were restricting the activities of Maritime Command, and Deputy Chief of Defence Staff in 1980. He served in this position until he retired in 1982.
He died on 1 May 2014 in Ottawa.

Awards and decorations

Allan's personal awards and decorations include the following:


RibbonDescriptionNotes
Order of Military Merit
Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
  • Decoration awarded in 1977
  • Canadian version
    • Canadian Forces Decoration
  • with two Clasp for 32 years of services