Peter Horsley
Encyclopedia
Air Marshal
Sir Beresford Peter Torrington Horsley KCB
, CBE
, LVO
, AFC
(25 March 1921 – 20 December 2001) was a senior Royal Air Force
commander.
, Oxford, and Wellington College.
. He transferred to the homeward-bound TSS Menelaus when the Second World War was declared, but then deserted ship. As a member of the Merchant Navy Horsley would not have been able to join the RAF, which was his ambition.
Horsley served briefly in the Home Guard
before joining the RAF, initially as an air gunner, as this was the only vacancy then available. However, he managed to get a transfer to pilot training, and was soon himself an instructor at RAF Cranwell
.
He was transferred to the Flying Training School at Penfold, Alberta
in 1942, and then to the Mosquito
Conversion Unit at Greenwood, New Brunswick
, 1943-1944. He then joined 21 Squadron of 140 Wing, RAF Hunsdon, flying Mosquitoes
on night fighter intruder missions over Nazi
Germany
. After D-Day
he was shot down over the English Channel
near Cherbourg and was picked up by an Air-Sea Rescue launch after three days. His navigator was killed, and he spent time in hospital and the RAF rehabilitation centre at Loughborough
.
Horsley then was attached to the communications squadron of the 2nd Tactical Air Force in France
, and was personal pilot to Major-General Sir Miles Graham during the Normandy invasion. He returned to the United Kingdom
in 1947 and joined the staff of the Central Flying School
, 23 Training Group
. He received a permanent commission and was appointed adjutant
to the Oxford University Air Squadron
in 1948.
He joined the Royal Household
in July 1949, as a Squadron Leader, as Extra Equerry
to Her Royal Highness the Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh
and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. He was also concurrently Officer Commanding 29 Squadron, RAF Tangmere
, Sussex
, flying Meteor
IX fighters. In 1952 he became a Wing Commander
and Temporary Equerry to Her Majesty The Queen
, and in 1953 he became full-time as Equerry to the Duke of Edinburgh, relinquishing the second appointment in command of his squadron. He remained the Duke’s Equerry until 1956.
In the late 1950s he became senior instructor at the RAF Flying College, Manby
in Lincolnshire
and was then made Station Commander at RAF Wattisham
in Suffolk
in 1959. He went on to be Group Captain
Near East Air Force (NEAF) operations based in Cyprus
on 1962.
Horsley attended the Imperial Defence College
, and was then appointed Deputy Commandant at the Joint Warfare Establishment at Old Sarum
in Wiltshire
in 1966.
He became an Air Vice Marshal and was made Assistant Chief of Air Staff
(Operations) in 1968, then Commanding Officer No. 1 Group
in 1971. His last appointment in the RAF was as Deputy Commander-in-Chief
RAF Strike Command
in 1973 before he retired in 1975.
" in London
in 1954. He died in 2001.
in 1944, and the Air Force Cross
in 1945. He was made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order in 1956, and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1964. In 1974 he was knighted and made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.
Air Marshal
Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Sir Beresford Peter Torrington Horsley KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, LVO
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
, AFC
Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)
The Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"...
(25 March 1921 – 20 December 2001) was a senior Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
commander.
Early life
Horsley was the youngest of seven children of a West Hartlepool merchant, who shot himself in 1922 after the collapse of the family business. He was educated at the Dragon SchoolDragon School
The Dragon School is a British coeducational, preparatory school in the city of Oxford, founded in 1877 as the Oxford Preparatory School, or OPS. It is primarily known as a boarding school, although it also takes day pupils...
, Oxford, and Wellington College.
Military career
In 1939, he became a deck boy on the TSS Cyclops, a Blue Funnel steamer sailing to MalayaBritish Malaya
British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...
. He transferred to the homeward-bound TSS Menelaus when the Second World War was declared, but then deserted ship. As a member of the Merchant Navy Horsley would not have been able to join the RAF, which was his ambition.
Horsley served briefly in the Home Guard
British Home Guard
The Home Guard was a defence organisation of the British Army during the Second World War...
before joining the RAF, initially as an air gunner, as this was the only vacancy then available. However, he managed to get a transfer to pilot training, and was soon himself an instructor at RAF Cranwell
RAF Cranwell
RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. It is currently commanded by Group Captain Dave Waddington...
.
He was transferred to the Flying Training School at Penfold, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
in 1942, and then to the Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
Conversion Unit at Greenwood, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, 1943-1944. He then joined 21 Squadron of 140 Wing, RAF Hunsdon, flying Mosquitoes
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
on night fighter intruder missions over Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. After D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
he was shot down over the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
near Cherbourg and was picked up by an Air-Sea Rescue launch after three days. His navigator was killed, and he spent time in hospital and the RAF rehabilitation centre at Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
.
Horsley then was attached to the communications squadron of the 2nd Tactical Air Force in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and was personal pilot to Major-General Sir Miles Graham during the Normandy invasion. He returned to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1947 and joined the staff of the Central Flying School
Central Flying School
The Central Flying School is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 it is the longest existing flying training school.-History:...
, 23 Training Group
Group (air force unit)
A group is a military aviation unit, a component of military organization and a military formation. Usage of the terms group and wing differ from one country to another, as well as different branches of a defence force, in some cases...
. He received a permanent commission and was appointed adjutant
Adjutant
Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...
to the Oxford University Air Squadron
University Air Squadron
University Air Squadrons are training units of the Royal Air Force which primarily provide basic flying training, force development and adventurous training to undergraduate students at British universities...
in 1948.
He joined the Royal Household
Royal Household
A Royal Household in ancient and medieval monarchies formed the basis for the general government of the country as well as providing for the needs of the sovereign and his relations....
in July 1949, as a Squadron Leader, as Extra Equerry
Equerry
An equerry , and related to the French word "écuyer" ) is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually upon a Sovereign, a member of a Royal Family, or a national...
to Her Royal Highness the Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. He was also concurrently Officer Commanding 29 Squadron, RAF Tangmere
RAF Tangmere
RAF Tangmere was a Royal Air Force station famous for its role in the Battle of Britain, located at Tangmere village about 3 miles east of Chichester in West Sussex, England. American RAF pilot Billy Fiske died at Tangmere and was the first American aviator to die during World War II...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, flying Meteor
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force...
IX fighters. In 1952 he became a Wing Commander
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
and Temporary Equerry to Her Majesty The Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, and in 1953 he became full-time as Equerry to the Duke of Edinburgh, relinquishing the second appointment in command of his squadron. He remained the Duke’s Equerry until 1956.
In the late 1950s he became senior instructor at the RAF Flying College, Manby
Manby
Manby is a village in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Situated approximately five miles east of Louth, the village had a population of 833 at the 2001 Census....
in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
and was then made Station Commander at RAF Wattisham
RAF Wattisham
RAF Wattisham was a Royal Air Force station located in East Anglia just outside the village of Wattisham, south of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England. During the Cold War it was a major front-line air force base...
in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
in 1959. He went on to be Group Captain
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...
Near East Air Force (NEAF) operations based in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
on 1962.
Horsley attended the Imperial Defence College
Royal College of Defence Studies
The Royal College of Defence Studies is an internationally-renowned institution and component of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom...
, and was then appointed Deputy Commandant at the Joint Warfare Establishment at Old Sarum
Old Sarum
Old Sarum is the site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury, in England. The site contains evidence of human habitation as early as 3000 BC. Old Sarum is mentioned in some of the earliest records in the country...
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
in 1966.
He became an Air Vice Marshal and was made Assistant Chief of Air Staff
Assistant Chief of the Air Staff
The Assistant Chief of the Air Staff is a senior appointment in the Royal Air Force. The incumbent is in practical terms the deputy to the head of the RAF, the Chief of the Air Staff....
(Operations) in 1968, then Commanding Officer No. 1 Group
No. 1 Group RAF
Number 1 Group of the Royal Air Force is one of the two operations groups in Air Command.The group is today referred to as the Air Combat Group, as it controls the RAF's combat fast-jet aircraft and has airfields in the UK plus RAF Unit Goose Bay in Canada, which is used extensively as an...
in 1971. His last appointment in the RAF was as Deputy Commander-in-Chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
RAF Strike Command
RAF Strike Command
The Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom's bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007: it was merged with Personnel and Training Command to form the single Air Command. It latterly consisted of two formations - No. 1...
in 1973 before he retired in 1975.
Later life
Sir Peter wrote an autobiography, Sounds From Another Room (1997), which described his interest in UFOs, which began when Equerry to His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, and a close encounter with an "alienExtraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
" in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1954. He died in 2001.
Honours
Horsley received the French Croix de GuerreCroix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
in 1944, and the Air Force Cross
Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)
The Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"...
in 1945. He was made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order in 1956, and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1964. In 1974 he was knighted and made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.