Peter Townsend (writer)

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Lieutenant Townsend (left) during World War II

Peter Wooldridge Townsend CVO , DSO , DFC and Spange (born November 22, 1914 in Rangoon , British India / Burma , † June 19, 1995 in Saint-Léger-en-Yvelines , Yvelines department , France) was a British colonel-pilot and writer . He also gained popularity through the failure to marry Princess Margaret .

Life

Peter Townsend (center) during World War II

He spent his early childhood in India and then attended school at Haileybury in the UK . In 1933 he joined the British Air Force and graduated from the Royal Air Force War School in Cranwell. In World War II he was a fighter pilot and shot down the first German bomber over Great Britain.

He was married to Rose Mary Paule, from the marriage had 2 sons, Giles (* 1942) and Hugo (* June 29, 1945). In 1952 the marriage ended in divorce .

In 1940 he became King George VI. presented. From 1944 to 1952 Townsend was the royal equerry to George VI. Among other things, Townsend's task was to accompany Georg's daughters Elizabeth and Margaret on receptions and trips. In 1950 he was appointed deputy steward at Buckingham Palace . From 1952 to 1953 he was court stable master of the Queen Mother at Clarence House .

Townsend's grave in Saint-Léger-en-Yvelines

In July 1953, rumors surfaced of a romance between Townsend and Princess Margaret. Townsend was then transferred to the British Embassy in Brussels , where he stayed until 1956. In March 1955, there were rumors of a wedding between him and Princess Margaret. The problem here was not his civil origin, but the fact that he was divorced in 1952. On October 31, 1955, Margaret announced that she would not marry.

In October 1956, Townsend left the British embassy in Brussels to travel around the world. This resulted in a documentary film and the travel report Earth, You My Friend , which he published in 1959.

Townsend married Marie-Luce Jamagne in 1959. The marriage that resulted from a daughter, Isabelle, lasted until his death.

In 1988 Townsend had his war medals auctioned off. He made the proceeds of around DM 60,000 available to children in war zones.

Works

  • Duel of the Eagles (in German 1970) over the Battle of Britain
  • The Last Emperor (1975), a biography about King George VI.
  • Time and Chance (1978), an autobiography
  • The Smallest Pawns in the Game (1979)
  • The Girl in the White Ship (1981)
  • The Postman of Nagasaki (1984)
  • Duel in the Dark (1986)
  • The Night Blitz (1985) with testimonies about the night raids by the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain

Web links

Commons : Peter Townsend (RAF officer)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Townsend, Peter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Townsend, Peter Wooldridge
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British colonel and writer
DATE OF BIRTH November 22, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Rangoon , Myanmar
DATE OF DEATH June 19, 1995
Place of death Saint Léger-en-Yvelines , France