Peter Townsend | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Townsend in 1940 | |
| Born | (1914-11-22)22 November 1914 |
| Died | 19 June 1995(1995-06-19) (aged 80) Saint-Léger-en-Yvelines, France |
| Buried | Saint-Léger-en-Yvelines |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Service years | 1933–1955 |
| Rank | Group Captain |
| Commands |
|
| Conflicts | Second World War |
| Awards | |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 5 |
Group CaptainPeter Wooldridge Townsend (22 November 1914 – 19 June 1995) was a BritishRoyal Air Force officer,flying ace,courtier and author. He wasequerry toKing George VI from 1944 to 1952 and held the same position forQueen Elizabeth II from 1952 to 1953. Townsend had a romance withPrincess Margaret, Elizabeth's younger sister.
Peter Wooldridge Townsend was born on 22 November 1914 inRangoon,Burma, to doctor's son Lieutenant Colonel Edward Copleston Townsend, of theBritish Indian Army,[1] and his wife, Gladys, daughter of Herbert Hatt-Cook, of Hartford Hall, Cheshire.[2][3][4] At the time of the marriage his father was 42, 20 years older than his bride.[5] The Townsend family, of Devon, tended to send its sons into the church or the armed forces.[1]
From 1928 to 1932, Townsend was educated atHaileybury and Imperial Service College, then an all-boysprivate school.[6]
Townsend joined theRoyal Air Force in 1933 and trained atRAF Cranwell. He was commissioned apilot officer on 27 July 1935.[7] On graduation, he joinedNo. 1 Squadron RAF atRAF Tangmere flying theHawker Fury biplane fighter. In 1936 he was posted toNo. 36 Squadron RAF in Singapore, flying theVickers Vildebeest torpedo bomber.[8] He was promoted toflying officer on 27 January 1937,[9] and returned to Tangmere that year as a member ofNo. 43 Squadron RAF. Townsend was promoted toflight lieutenant on 27 January 1939.[10]
In a memoir, Townsend recounted 605 Squadron's arrival at Tangmere, just before the outbreak of war. Townsend wrote:
Things hummed at Tangmere Cottage, just opposite the guard room, where [605's commanding officer John Willoughby de Broke and his wife Rachel] kept open house. There we spent wild evenings, drinking, singing, dancing to romantic tunes ... we danced blithely, relentlessly towards catastrophe ... With one chance in five of survival - not counting the burnt and the wounded - only a handful of us would come through.[11]
The first enemy aircraft to crash on English soil during the Second World War fell to fighters fromRAF Acklington in Northumberland on 3 February 1940, when three Hurricanes of 'B' flight, No. 43 Squadron, shot down aLuftwaffeHeinkel He 111 of4./KG 26 nearWhitby. The pilots were Flight Lieutenant Townsend, Flying Officer "Tiger" Folkes and SergeantHerbert Hallowes. Two more He 111s were claimed by Townsend, on 22 February and 8 April, and a sixth share on 22 April. Enemy aircraft had been shot down in 1939 by the RAF from over Scotland'sScapa Flow naval base during the Luftwaffe's first raid on Britain.[12] Townsend was awarded theDistinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in April 1940:[13]
Flight Lieutenant Peter Wooldridge Townsend (33178)In April 1940, whilst on patrol over the North Sea, Flight Lieutenant Townsend intercepted and attacked an enemy aircraft at dusk and after a running fight shot it down. This is the third success obtained by this pilot and in each instance he has displayed qualities of leadership, skill and determination of the highest order, with little regard for his own safety.
By May 1940, Townsend was one of the most capablesquadron leaders of theBattle of Britain, serving throughout the battle ascommanding officer ofNo. 85 Squadron RAF, flyingHawker Hurricanes. On 11 July 1940, Acting Squadron Leader Townsend, flying Hurricane VY-K (P2716) intercepted aDornier Do 17 ofKG 2 and severely damaged the bomber, forcing it to crash land atArras. Return fire from the Dornier hit the Hurricane coolant system and Townsend was forced to ditch 20 miles (32 km) from the English coast, being rescued by HM TrawlerCape Finisterre. He wasmentioned in despatches the same month.[14] On 31 August, during combat withMesserschmitt Bf 110s overTonbridge, Townsend was shot down and wounded in the left foot by a cannon shell which went through theglycol tank and exploded in the cockpit. He continued to lead the unit on the ground even after this wound resulted in his big toe being amputated, and he returned to operational flying on 21 September. Townsend was promoted to the substantive rank of squadron leader on 1 September 1940.[15] ABar to his DFC was awarded in early September 1940, for leading his squadron in protecting convoys during July and August 1940, personally shooting down four enemy aircraft and leading his squadron in destroying at least 10 enemy aircraft and damaging many others. The citation commented: "The success which has been achieved has been due to Squadron Leader Townsend's unflagging zeal and leadership."[16]
Townsend oversaw the conversion of No. 85 Squadron to night operations atRAF Hunsdon in Hertfordshire during early 1941. In May 1941, by now an actingwing commander and credited with shooting down at least 11 enemy aircraft, Townsend was awarded theDistinguished Service Order (DSO). His citation credited Townsend as an officer who had "displayed outstanding powers of leadership and organisation, combined with great determination and skill in air combat. By his untiring efforts he has contributed materially to the many successes obtained by his squadron."[17]
Townsend was promoted to the temporary rank ofwing commander on 1 December 1941.[18] He later became commanding officer ofRAF Drem in Scotland in April 1942 and commandedNo. 611 Squadron RAF, aSpitfire unit. He was later leader ofNo. 605 Squadron RAF, anight fighter unit, and attended thestaff college from October 1942. In January 1943, he was appointed commanding officer ofRAF West Malling in Kent. His wartime record was nine aircraft claimed destroyed, and two shared, two "probables" and four damaged.[19]
| Date | Location | Aircraft shot down |
|---|---|---|
| 3 February 1940 | Near Whitby, North Yorkshire | Heinkel He 111 (4./KG 26) – first enemy aircraft to crash on English soil[20] |
| 22 February 1940 | North England patrol | Heinkel He 111 – claimed destroyed[21] |
| 8 April 1940 | North England patrol | Heinkel He 111 – claimed destroyed[22] |
| 11 July 1940 | Off Arras / English Channel | Dornier Do 17 – severely damaged, forced to crash‑land in France[23] |
| 11 August 1940 | Thames Estuary region | Dornier Do 17 – destroyed (plus damaged Bf 110)[24] |
| 18 August 1940 | Thames Estuary region | Two Messerschmitt Bf 109 and one Bf 110 – three fighters destroyed[25] |
| 26 August 1940 | Over England | Shared in destruction of two Dornier Do 17s[26] |
| 28 August 1940 | Over England | Messerschmitt Bf 109 – destroyed[27] |
| 29 August 1940 | Over England | Messerschmitt Bf 109 – destroyed[28] |
In 1944, Townsend was appointed temporaryequerry toKing George VI;[29] the officer had been the future king's flight instructor in the 1930s.[30] In the same year, the appointment was made permanent, and he served until 1953 when he became Extra Equerry,[31] an honorary office he held until his death. He 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.[32]
In August 1950, Townsend was made deputyMaster of the Household and was moved tocomptroller to theQueen Mother in 1952.[33] He was promoted togroup captain on 1 January 1953,[34] and retired from theRoyal Household the same year.
Townsend served asair attaché inBrussels from 1953 to 1956.
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Townsend spent much of his later years writing non-fiction books. His books includeEarth My Friend (about driving/boating around the world alone in the mid-1950s),Duel of Eagles (about theBattle of Britain),The Odds Against Us (also known asDuel in the Dark, about fightingLuftwaffe night bombers in 1940–1941),The Last Emperor (a biography ofKing George VI),The Girl in the White Ship (about a youngrefugee fromVietnam in the late 1970s who was the sole survivor of her ship of refugees),The Postman of Nagasaki (about theatomic bombing ofNagasaki),[35] andTime and Chance (anautobiography).[36] He also wrote many short articles and contributed to other books.[37]
Townsend was a director of one ofGerald Carroll'sCarroll Group companies.[38]
Townsend was one of several military advisors for the filmBattle of Britain (1969). He also appeared in the PBS videoThe Windsors: A Royal Family (1994).[39][40]
On 17 July 1941, Townsend married(Cecil) Rosemary Pawle (1921–2004). They had two sons, Giles (1942–2015) and Hugo (b. 1945). The family was resident inAdelaide Cottage in the 1940s.[41] The younger son married Yolande,Princess of Ligne, daughter ofAntoine, 13th Prince of Ligne andAlix, Princess of Ligne (née Princess Alix of Luxembourg as daughter ofCharlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg). Townsend and Pawle divorced in 1952.
After the divorce, Townsend andPrincess Margaret decided to marry. He had met her in his role as anequerry to her father,King George VI. Divorcees suffered severe disapproval in the social atmosphere of the time and could not remarry in theChurch of England if their former spouse was still alive. Their relationship was considered especially controversial because Margaret's sister, Queen Elizabeth II, was the Church'ssupreme governor.[42]
When news of the relationship appeared in the press, the government posted Townsend to a position as air attaché at the British Embassy in Brussels. On 31 October 1955, Princess Margaret issued a public statement formally ending the relationship:
I have been aware that, subject to my renouncing my rights of succession, it might have been possible for me to contract a civil marriage. But, mindful of the Church's teachings that Christian marriage is indissoluble, and conscious of my duty to the Commonwealth, I have resolved to put these considerations before others.
The BBC interrupted its scheduled radio programme to broadcast the statement.[43][44]
In 1959, aged 45, Townsend married 20-year-old Marie-Luce Jamagne, a Belgian national he had met the previous year.[45] They had two daughters and one son. Their younger daughter, Isabelle Townsend, became a commercial model for the fashion designerRalph Lauren in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Isabelle Townsend and her family renovated and lived atLe Moulin de la Tuilerie inGif-sur-Yvette, where theDuke andDuchess of Windsor had once lived.[46][47]
Townsend died ofstomach cancer on 19 June 1995, inSaint-Léger-en-Yvelines, France, at the age of 80.The Independent wrote in Townsend's obituary that "He developed, too, a perceptible sense of relief that things turned out the way they did", because "for men likeMark Phillips and Princess Margaret's eventual husbandAntony Armstrong-Jones, [marrying into the royal family] turned out to be an almost impossible undertaking".[48]
In 2002, a sculpture of Townsend, designed byGuy Portelli, was erected at Townsend Square, part of theKings Hill development, on the site formerly occupied by theRAF West Malling airfield.[49]
Group Captain Townsend was the recipient of several high-level British decorations for gallantry and distinguished service during the Second World War, as well as foreign honours from Belgium and the Netherlands. His medals reflect a career of active operational flying, and of service to the Royal Family.
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Royal Victorian Order – Commander (CVO)
Distinguished Service Order[50]
Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar[51]
1939–1945 Star withBattle of Britain Clasp
Air Crew Europe Star
Defence Medal
War Medal 1939–1945 with Mentioned in Despatches oak leaf
Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal
Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
Officer of theOrder of the Crown (Belgium)[52]
Queen Juliana Inauguration Medal
Commander of theOrder of Orange-NassauThe group of medals awarded to Townsend was sold at auction in June 2021 for £260,000 through theDix Noonan Webb auction house.[53]
Townsend is portrayed byBen Miles,Timothy Dalton andHamish Riddle in theNetflix television seriesThe Crown.[54][55]
