33 Facts About Peter Townsend (RAF officer)

Peter Townsend was equerry to King George VI from 1944 to 1952 and held the same position for Elizabeth II from 1952 to 1953.

Peter Townsend was born in Rangoon, Burma, to doctor's son Lieutenant Colonel Edward Copleston Peter Townsend, of the British Indian Army, and his wife, Gladys, daughter of Herbert Hatt-Cook, of Hartford Hall, Cheshire; his father had married aged 42,20 years older than his bride.

From 1928 to 1932, Peter Townsend was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College, then an all-boys private school.

Peter Townsend joined the Royal Air Force in 1933 and trained at RAF Cranwell.

Peter Townsend was commissioned a pilot officer on 27 July 1935.

Peter Townsend was promoted to flying officer on 27 January 1937, and returned to Tangmere that year as a member of No 43 Squadron RAF.

Peter Townsend was promoted to flight lieutenant on 27 January 1939.

The pilots were Flight Lieutenant Peter Townsend, Flying Officer "Tiger" Folkes and Sergeant James Hallowes.

Peter Townsend was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in April 1940:.

On 11 July 1940, Acting Squadron Leader Peter Townsend, flying Hurricane VY-K intercepted a Dornier Do 17 of KG 2 and severely damaged the bomber, forcing it to crash land at Arras.

Return fire from the Dornier hit the Hurricane coolant system and Peter Townsend was forced to ditch 20 miles from the English coast, being rescued by HM Trawler Cape Finisterre.

Peter Townsend was mentioned in despatches the same month.

Peter Townsend was promoted to the substantive rank of squadron leader on 1 September 1940.

Peter Townsend oversaw the conversion of No 85 Squadron to night operations at RAF Hunsdon in Hertfordshire during early 1941.

In May 1941, by now an acting wing commander and credited with shooting down at least 11 enemy aircraft, Peter Townsend was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.

Peter Townsend was promoted to the temporary rank of wing commander on 1 December 1941.

Peter Townsend later became commanding officer of RAF Drem in Scotland in April 1942 and commanded No 611 Squadron RAF, a Spitfire unit.

Peter Townsend was later leader of No 605 Squadron RAF, a night fighter unit, and attended the staff college from October 1942.

In 1944, Peter Townsend was appointed temporary equerry to King George VI; the officer had been the future king's flight instructor in the 1930s.

Peter Townsend ended his wartime service with the temporary rank of wing commander and was promoted to the permanent rank of wing commander on 1 January 1949.

Peter Townsend was promoted to group captain on 1 January 1953, and retired from the Royal Household the same year.

Peter Townsend served as air attache in Brussels from 1953 to 1956.

Peter Townsend spent much of his later years writing non-fiction books.

Peter Townsend wrote many short articles and contributed to other books.

Peter Townsend was a director of one of Gerald Carroll's Carroll Group companies.

Peter Townsend was one of several military advisors for the film Battle of Britain.

Peter Townsend appeared in the PBS video The Windsors: A Royal Family.

On 17 July 1941, Peter Townsend married Rosemary Pawle.

Peter Townsend had met her in his role as an equerry to her father, King George VI.

In 1959, aged 45, Peter Townsend married 20-year-old Marie-Luce Jamagne, a Belgian national he had met the previous year.

Peter Townsend died of stomach cancer in 1995, in Saint-Leger-en-Yvelines, France, at the age of 80.

In 2002, a sculpture of Peter Townsend, designed by Guy Portelli, was erected at Peter Townsend Square, part of the Kings Hill development, on the site formerly occupied by the RAF West Malling airfield.

Peter Townsend is portrayed by Ben Miles, Timothy Dalton and Hamish Riddle in the Netflix television series The Crown.