Peter Hilton (British Army officer)

Colonel Sir Peter Hilton KCVO, MC & Two Bars, JP, DL (died 1995) was a World War II veteran.

Early life and career

A son of Major General Richard Hilton and Phyllis Hilton, he was educated at Malvern College and the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. He was born into a County Durham family whose country home was Hylton Castle, near Sunderland.

He served in the Royal Artillery in the Second World War, 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 United States Army in Italy from 1943–44, returning to join the Normandy invasion with the Royal Horse Artillery in 1944, where he was badly wounded.

He was sent to Greece as an instructor in 1950 but was recalled due to Korea. He was awarded the Military Cross and two bars and, in 1972, was made an honorary colonel. He became Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire (1978-1994) and was created a Knight of the Order of St John on 18 December 1980.^[1]

After retiring from the Army, Sir Peter took over running his in-laws’ nurseries at Tansley. He invested in Britannia Park, an ill-fated venture to build a theme park in Derbyshire. The company became bankrupt in 1985, only ten weeks after its opening, owing him £28,000. He was forced to sell his garden nursery business as a result.^[2][3]

Private life and honours

He married Lady Winifred Smith in 1942 and they had two sons, Andrew and Richard. On 12 June 1993, he was made a Knight Commander in the Royal Victorian Order in the Birthday Honours List.^[4] He died in 1995 and is buried at Idridgehay.^[5]

Sir Peter Hilton Court at the University of Derby is named in his honour.^[6]

References