Major-General Sir Peter Aldcroft Downward (10 April 1924 – 18 October 2014) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer.

Military career

Educated at

King William's College King William's College () is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private school for pupils aged 3 to 18 near Castletown, Isle of Man, Castletown on the Isle of Man. It is a member of the International Baccalaureate and Hea ...

, Downward was commissioned into the South Lancashire Regiment in 1943 and served in North West Europe during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

.''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

2010'',

A & C Black A & C Black is a British book publishing company, owned since 2002 by Bloomsbury Publishing. The company is noted for publishing ''Who's Who'' since 1849 and the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' between 1827 and 1903. It offers a wide variety of boo ...

, 2010, He also took part in the

Berlin Airlift The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...

in 1949 and later saw action in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. He became commanding officer of the 1st Battalion the Lancashire Regiment in 1966 and in that role was deployed to

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

during the

Aden Emergency The Aden Emergency, also known as the 14 October Revolution () or as the Radfan Uprising, was an armed rebellion by the National Liberation Front (South Yemen), National Liberation Front (NLF) and the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South ...

. He went on to be commander of the Berlin Infantry Brigade in 1971, commandant of the School of Infantry in 1974 and General Officer Commanding West Midlands District in 1976 before retiring in 1979. In 1953, he married Hilda Hinckley Wood; they had two sons. Following the death of his first wife, he married Mary Boykett Proctor (née Allwork). In retirement he was Lieutenant Governor of the

Royal Hospital Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is an Old soldiers' home, Old Soldiers' retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse — the ancient sense of the word "hospital" — by King Charles II of Eng ...

, and then Governor of the

Military Knights of Windsor The Military Knights of Windsor, originally the Alms Knights and informally the Poor Knights, are retired military officers who receive a pension and accommodation at Windsor Castle, and who provide support for the Order of the Garter and for th ...

. He died on 18 October 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downward, Peter 1924 births 2014 deaths British Army personnel of World War II People from Douglas, Isle of Man British Army major generals Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) South Lancashire Regiment officers Lancashire Regiment officers British Army personnel of the Korean War British military personnel of the Aden Emergency