大象传媒

Peter was on school holiday when news of his father鈥檚 probable death reached Middleton. Not surprisingly, when he reached 18 years of age a few months later, it was for the Army that he volunteered. However, the Forces were, by this time, looking to their post-war structure and suitable candidates were being offered university short courses prior to service training. So, after three days in the army getting kitted out in early October 1943, the next six months were spent at Oxford University. He served from March to December 1944 training first as an infantryman, then as an Armoured Corps soldier before going to OCTU (Officer Cadet Training Unit) until June 1945. Commissioned into the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment equipped with airborne light tanks, he was lined up to land in Tokyo Bay when the atom bomb ended the necessity. He was posted to Palestine, instead, and swapped fighting for peacekeeping, which in the post-war turmoil that prevailed, was more or less the same thing. Peter made the Army his career and retired as a Major General.

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