A full biographical summary of Pownall's life can be found online as part of the introduction to his papers held at King's College London, Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives (see http://www.aim25.ac.uk/). The positions Pownall held for the period covered by the material held at Churchill Archives Centre were: Military Assistant Secretary, Committee of Imperial Defence (1933-1935); Deputy Secretary (1936); Commandant, School of Artillery, Larkhill, Wiltshire (1936-1938) Director of Military Operations and Intelligence, War Office (1938-1939) and Chief of General Staff, BEF (British Expeditionary Force), France, (1939-1940). Pownall died 9 June 1961.