Christopher Peto graduated from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers on 11 August 1915.
16 Facts About Christopher Peto
1.
2.
Christopher Peto served in both the First World War and Second World War, attaining the rank of brigadier.
3.
Christopher Peto took command of the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers in October 1938, being one of the few officers in the regiment to have seen action in the First World War.
4.
Christopher Peto was tasked with carrying on the mechanised training of the regiment in the buildup to the war, to mobilise it when war came and to take it to France in May 1940.
5.
Christopher Peto's was the responsibility of showing all ranks how to behave under fire, and so much depends upon the leadership the first time men go into battle.
6.
Christopher Peto's calm and fearless example was an inspiration to all, and laid the foundation of the enthusiasm and steadiness which the regiment so consistently displayed throughout the war.
7.
Christopher Peto commanded with conspicuous ability in the fantastic operations south of the Somme until a severe wound obliged him to be evacuated.
8.
Luckily for the regiment, Chris Christopher Peto had, and has, an inexhaustible fund of humour and an irrepressible spirit.
9.
Christopher Peto did not come back after his recovery, but was promoted to the command of armoured brigade.
10.
Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Peto agreed and led the reconnaissance accompanied by Major MacDonell's tank and two scout cars.
11.
We had found it impossible to depress the guns on our tanks sufficiently to bear, and Lt-Col Christopher Peto, firing from his turret with his pistol, was badly wounded in the right hand.
12.
Christopher Peto carried on until the Germans surrendered, and was then evacuated.
13.
At the 1945 general election, Christopher Peto was elected as the Member of Parliament for Barnstaple.
14.
In 1966, Christopher Peto was appointed the High Sheriff of Wiltshire for the year.
15.
Christopher Peto inherited the baronetcy created for his father in 1977, upon the death of his elder brother.
16.
The other Christopher Peto baronetcy, created for Christopher Peto's grandfather, is still extant in the senior branch of the family.