Peter Hilton (lord-lieutenant)

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

A son of Major-General Richard Hilton and Phyllis Hilton, he was educated at Malvern College and the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. He married Lady Winifred Smith in 1942 and they had two sons, Andrew and Richard. He was born into an old County Durham family. The family seat 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. ”

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 American Army in Italy from 1943-44, returning to join the Normandy invasion with the Royal Horse Artillery in 1944, where he was badly wounded.

In 1950, he was sent to Greece as an instructor but was recalled due to Korea. 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. 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 went 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]

On 12 June 1993, he was made a KCVO 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

1. ^ London Gazette, no. 48456, 18 December 1980
2. ^ "Britannia Park". http://www.heanorhistory.org.uk/britanniapark.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-23. 
3. ^ "The Rise and Fall of Britannia Park". http://www.berniebumpkin.co.uk/page.php?domain_name=berniebumpkin.co.uk&viewpage=News. Retrieved 2007-09-23. 
4. ^ London Gazette, no. 53332, 11 June 1993
5. ^ "Idridgehay village". http://www.derbyshireuk.net/idridgehay.html. Retrieved 2007-09-23. 
6. ^ "Sir Peter Hilton Court". Archived from the original on 2007-11-15. http://web.archive.org/web/20071115202124/http://www.derby.ac.uk/derby-halls-of-residence/halls/sir-peter-hilton-court. Retrieved 2007-09-23.