Hilton, Lt-Col Sir Peter - War hero and Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire

Colonel Sir Peter Hilton, left, was born in June 1919 into an old County Durham family, whose home for generations was Hilton Castle, near Sunderland.

"In Peter's veins ran the blood of some of the great Border families, including the Percys,” said his wife, Lady Winifred Hilton. “The Hiltons distinguished themselves in battle from Crecy and Flodden to the poppy fields of Flanders and the Second World War. ”

Peter’s parents were Major General Richard and Phyllis Hilton. He was educated at Malvern College and the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, joining the British Expeditionary Force in 1939-40.

After being evacuated from Dunkirk, he served in the Western Desert with the 7th Armoured Division from 1942-43, seeing action at Alamein. He then joined the 5th American Army in Italy from 1943-44, returning to join the Normandy invasion with the Royal Horse Artillery in 1944, where he was wounded.

Alton Manor, near Idridgehay, home of Lt-Col Sir Peter and Lady Winifred Hilton

After he recovered, he was sent to Greece as an instructor but was recalled due to Korea in 1950. A courageous soldier, he was awarded the Military Cross and two bars and presented with the Order of Minerva by the King of Greece.

In 1972, he was made an honorary colonel, was Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire from 1978-94 and knighted in 1993.

He married Winifred Smith in 1942 and they had two sons, Andrew and Richard. The latter sadly died, aged 22. After retiring from the Army, Sir Peter took over running his in-laws’ nurseries at Tansley. He died in 1995 and is buried at Idridgehay.

Pages linking here

Our war: Lady Hilton's amazing story

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