Former President and Leader of the People’s National Congress Brigadier David Granger has expressed condolences on the passing of Colonel Ulric Pilgrim, former Commander of the Guyana Defence Force, who died after a long illness in the USA.
A release from the PNCR said that Pilgrim enlisted in the British Guiana Volunteer Force (BGVF) in 1956 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1964.
He joined the British Guiana Special Service Unit (BGSSU) and was among the first three officer cadets to be trained at the Mons Officer Cadet School in the UK in 1965. He transferred to the Guyana Defence Force and was soon appointed Adjutant to the Chief of Staff. Colonel Pilgrim was appointed Commander in 1972 was awarded the Military Service Medal (MSM) for distinguished service, the release said.
He attended various training courses including the Commonwealth Jungle Warfare School; Junior Division Staff College; Army Staff College; Army School of Education; and, Royal College of Defence Studies. The GDF officer cadet school was named the Colonel Ulric Pilgrim Officer Cadet School (CUPOCS) in his honour.
Granger succeeded Colonel Pilgrim as Commander in 1979. The People’s National Congress extended condolences to Colonel Pilgrim’s widow and children.
