Peter J Blunt CB MBE GM (1923 - 2003)

Born 18 Aug 1923 in Farnborough, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 8 Aug 2003 at age 79 in Kensington, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Peter Blunt CB MBE GM is Notable.

Peter Blunt CB MBE GM was born in Hampshire, England.

Major General Peter J Blunt CB MBE GM was born on 18th August 1923 in Farnborough, Hampshire, England. ^[1] He was the second of five children and second son of Albert Blunt, then a sergeant in the Royal Tank Corps, and Claudia Wintle.

Formative years

Blunt was educated in India (where he father was posted in 1929); returning to England in 1937 (aged fourteen years) to enrol as an apprentice tradesman in the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) school on the island of Jersey.

Second World War

In 1940, after the fall of France, and with the German occupation of the Channel Islands imminent, the school was evacuated and Blunt found himself in an RASC training battalion. He saw active service in the Italian campaign in 1944 before returning to England for officer training. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and posted to the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Scots Fusiliers, where he commanded a close protection platoon defending Field Marshal Montgomery's 21st Army Group headquarters. He was present at the signing of the unconditional German surrender at Lüneburg Heath on 4th May 1945. He then served in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry as adjutant of the British Army garrison in Dieppe.

Post war

Blunt left the army in 1946 and joined the Allied Control Commission in Germany, following which he served as an inspector at Bletchley Park.

He married Adrienne Richardson, daughter of Major General T W Richardson and sister of (later) Major General Tony Richardson, in 1949 in Kensington, Middlesex. ^[2] and they had three sons, including

• Oliver Simon Peter Blunt QC (1951-), ^[3] a barrister and the father of popular actress, Emily Blunt and
• Crispin Blunt (1960-) who became Conservative Member of Parliament for Reigate.

Feeling the need for job security now as a husband, Blunt returned to the Army in 1949 on a short service commission in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. In 1951 he gained a regular commission and transferred to the RASC. He graduated Staff College in 1957 and the Joint Services Staff College in 1963.

In 1959 Blunt was awarded the George Medal (GM) for his courage in saving two men from a lorry carrying a load of petrol which had crashed near Bielefeld, Germany.

In 1965 he was sent to command 26th (Heavy Ferry) Bridging Regiment RASC and, by some accounts, to resolve a mutiny. Later that year the unit became 26th Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers. In 1968 he was appointed General Staff Officer 1 for Defence Plans, Far East Land Forces, and from 1970 to 1972 commanded the Royal Corps of Transport 1st Corps, before being seconded to the Royal College of Defence Studies in 1972. After service as Deputy Transport Officer-in-Chief for the Army, he became Transport Officer-in-Chief in 1973, then was Assistant Chief of Personnel and Logistics (Army) at the Ministry of Defence in 1977-78 and Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Personnel and Logistics), 1978-79, when he retired from the service as a Major General, while continuing in the ceremonial role of Colonel Commandant of the Royal Corps of Transport. He was appointed both Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of his valuable service and leadership.

Civilian life

Upon his retirement from the Army at 56 years of age, Blunt entered the world of business; being appointed Managing Director of Earls Court Ltd (1979-80), Angex-Watson (1980-83), and Market Sensors (1980-88). He was Chairman of Angex Ltd (1988-90) and of Argus Shield Ltd (1988-89). He was also a director of Associated Newspapers.

He had already been a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Carmen from 1973, and was appointed a special Commissioner of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, from 1979 to 1985.

Final parade

Blunt passed away at Kensington, ten days short of his eightieth birthday celbrations, on 8th August 2003. ^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV38-WLTX : 2 October 2014), Peter Blunt, 1923; from "England & Wales Births, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Birth Registration, Hartley Wintney, Hampshire, England, citing General Register Office, Southport, England
2. ↑ "England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVD4-YNJG : 8 October 2014), Peter J Blunt and null, 1949; from "England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1949, quarter 1, vol. 5C, p. 2271, Kensington, London, England, General Register Office, Southport, England
3. ↑ UK FreeBMD Birth Index Mar qtr 1951, vol 7c, page 517; registered at Marlborough, Wiltshire
4. ↑ "England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVZJ-Z79H : 4 September 2014), Peter Blunt, Aug 2003; from "England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Death Registration, Kensington & Chelsea, London, England, General Register Office, Southport, England

See also

• "Major-General Peter Blunt". The Daily Telegraph (London). 25 August 2003.
• [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Blunt&oldid=626240403 Wikipedia: Peter Blunt; accessed 2 Jan 2015.