Ulric Cross
Philip Louis Ulric Cross was a Trinidadian jurist, diplomat and Royal Air Force navigator. He is recognised as possibly the most decorated West Indian of WW2. He is credited with helping to prevent some 200 bombers from being shot down in a raid over Germany in 1943. He subsequently studied law at London's Middle Temple and went on to a distinguished international career as a legal practitioner as well as holding positions in the diplomatic service of Trinidad and Tobago.
lric Cross was born on 1 May 1917, Port of Spain, Trinidad, to Reginald Rufus and Maud Iris Cross. He was the second child in a family of nine. At the age of 11, he passed the Government Exhibition Examination and was awarded one of eight annual scholarships that qualified him for five years of free secondary education. He came first on the island by achieving the highest marks scored nationally, and went on to attend St Mary’s College. He was devastated by his mother's death when he was just 13 years old. His academic focus was completely derailed by this latter event and so, after completing five years of college education, he left school. His first job was with the Trinidad Guardian as a copy editor. Then he worked for about four years as a clerk to Leo Pujadas, Solicitor.
In 1941, aged 24, Cross joined the Royal Air Force and served with RAF Bomber Command during World War II, attaining the rank of Squadron Leader.
In June 1944 he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and in January 1945 was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in recognition of his "fine example of keenness and devotion to duty" and "exceptional navigational ability".
He was a member of the elite Pathfinder Force that perfected techniques for precision main force bombing. In his own words: "We did a lot of low-level daylight bombing. We flew at just 50 feet instead of the normal 25,000 feet. We dropped four 500-pound bombs. You flew into your target at 50 feet and as you approached it you went up to 1,200 feet.
“You then did a shallow dive onto the target and released your bombs. The bomb had an 11-second delay, so you shot up to avoid the bomb blast. We went over in formation and we bombed in formation, but we came back independently."
Cross flew 80 missions over Germany and occupied Europe as navigator of Mosquito Fighter Bomber, and was the model for the black character, Squadron Leader Charles Ford, in Ken Follett’s novel Hornet Flight.
After the war, Cross went on to study law and was called to the Bar under the aegis of the Middle Temple, London, on 26 January 1949.
He returned to Trinidad where, from 1949 to 1953, he was Legal Adviser to the Comptroller of Imports and Exports, Trinidad and Tobago. He also lectured in Trade Union History and Trade Union Law at the Extra-Mural Department of the University of the West Indies located in Trinidad. When he went back to London, he worked for some time as a Talks Producer with the BBC (1953–1957).
Subsequently, Cross practised law in Africa for many years: Between 1958 and 1960 he worked in Ghana where he was Crown Counsel and Senior Crown Counsel and lectured in Criminal Law at the Ghana School of Law. 1967, Cross became a High Court judge in Tanzania, where from 1968 to 1970 he was Chairman of the Permanent Labour Tribunal.
He returned to Trinidad in 1971 to serve as a High Court judge. In 1979 Ulric Cross was elevated to the Court of Appeal. He then became Chairman of the Law Reform Commission of Trinidad and Tobago from 1982 to 1983, in which position he made a
significant contribution towards furthering the revision and development of the country’s laws.
Ulric Cross died aged 96 on 4 October 2013, at his home on Dere Street, Port of Spain. Paying tribute to Cross at the funeral service, the British High Commissioner said: "Without the help of servicemen from the Commonwealth (like Cross), the outcome of World War II would have been entirely different."
