"Equerry to King George VI" Peter Townsend Hand Signed FDC For Sale

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"Equerry to King George VI" Peter Townsend Hand Signed FDC:
$499.99

Up for sale "Equerry to King George VI" Peter Townsend Hand Signed First Day Cover. Included in this offering is a VINTAGE 6X8 B&W Photo. 

ES-5897E

Group Captain Peter Wooldridge 1914 – 19 June 1995) was a Royal Air Force officer, flying ace, courtier and author. He was equerry to King George VI from 1944 to 1952 and held the same

position for Queen Elizabeth II from

1952 to 1953. Townsend notably had a romance with Princess Margaret, the Queen's only sibling. Townsend was born

in Rangoon, Burma, to Lieutenant Colonel Edward

Copleston Townsend and his wife, Gladys (née Hatt-Cook). The

Townsend family, of Devon, tended to send its sons into the church or the armed

forces. From 1928 to 1932, he was educated at Haileybury

and Imperial Service College, then an all-boys independent

school. Townsend joined the Royal Air Force in 1933 and trained at RAF Cranwell. He was commissioned a pilot officer on 27 July 1935. On graduation, he joined No. 1 Squadron RAF at RAF Tangmere flying the Hawker Fury biplane fighter. In 1936 he was posted

to No. 36 Squadron RAF in

Singapore, flying the Vickers Vildebeest torpedo

bomber. He was promoted to flying officer on 27 January 1937, and returned to Tangmere that year as a member

of No. 43 Squadron RAF.

Townsend was promoted to flight lieutenant on 27 January 1939. The

first enemy aircraft to crash on English soil during the Second World War fell

victim to fighters from RAF Acklington in Northumberland on 3 February 1940, when

three Hurricanes of ‘B’ flight, No. 43 Squadron, shot down a Luftwaffe Heinkel 111 of 4./KG 26 near Whitby. The pilots were Flight Lieutenant Townsend, Flying

Officer "Tiger" Folkes and Sergeant James Hallowes. Two more He 111s

were claimed by Townsend, on 22 February and 8 April, and a sixth share on 22

April. Enemy aircraft had been shot down in 1939 by the RAF from over

Scotland's Scapa Flow naval base

during the Luftwaffe's first raid on Britain. Townsend was awarded the Distinguished

Flying Cross (DFC) in April 1940:Flight Lieutenant Peter Wooldridge

Townsend (33178) In April 1940, whilst on patrol over the North Sea, Flight

Lieutenant Townsend intercepted and attacked an enemy aircraft at dusk and

after a running fight shot it down. This is the third success obtained by this

pilot and in each instance he has displayed qualities of leadership, skill and

determination of the highest order, with little regard for his own safety. By

May 1940, Townsend was one of the most capable squadron leaders of the Battle of Britain, serving throughout the battle as commanding officer of No. 85 Squadron RAF,

flying Hawker Hurricanes. On 11

July 1940, Acting Squadron Leader Townsend, flying Hurricane VY-K (P2716)

intercepted a Dornier Do 17 of KG 2 and

severely damaged the bomber, forcing it to crash land at Arras.

Return fire from the Dornier hit the Hurricane coolant system and Townsend was

forced to ditch 20 miles (32 km) from the English coast, being rescued by

HM Trawler Cape Finisterre. He was mentioned in despatches the

same month.[10] On 31 August, during combat with Messerschmitt Bf 110s over Tonbridge, Townsend was shot down and wounded in the left foot

by a cannon shell which went through the glycol tank and exploded in the cockpit. He continued to

lead the unit on the ground even after this wound resulted in his big toe being

amputated, and he returned to operational flying on 21 September. Townsend was

promoted to the substantive rank of squadron leader on 1 September 1940. A Bar to his DFC was awarded in early September 1940, for

leading his squadron in protecting convoys during July and August 1940,

personally shooting down four enemy aircraft and leading his squadron in

destroying at least 10 enemy aircraft and damaging many others. Part of his

citation reads: ...The success which has been achieved has been due

to Squadron Leader Townsend's unflagging zeal and leadership. Townsend oversaw

the conversion of No. 85 Squadron to night operations at RAF Hunsdon in Hertfordshire during early 1941. In May

1941, by now an acting wing commander and

credited with shooting down at least 11 enemy aircraft, Townsend was awarded

the Distinguished Service

Order (DSO). His citation credited Townsend as an officer who

had ..displayed outstanding powers of leadership and organisation,

combined with great determination and skill in air combat. By his untiring

efforts he has contributed materially to the many successes obtained by his

squadronTownsend was promoted to the temporary rank of wing commander on 1

December 1941. He later became commanding officer of RAF Drem in Scotland in April 1942 and commanded No. 611 Squadron RAF,

a Spitfire unit. He was

later leader of No. 605 Squadron RAF,

a night fighter unit,

and attended the staff college from

October 1942. In January 1943, he was appointed commanding officer of RAF West Malling in Kent. His wartime record was nine

aircraft claimed destroyed, and two shared, two 'probables' and four damaged.

In 1944, Townsend was appointed temporary equerry to King George VI. In the same year, the appointment was

made permanent, and he served until 1953 when he became Extra Equerry, an honorary office he held until his

death. He ended his wartime service with the temporary rank of wing commander

and was promoted to the permanent rank of wing commander on 1 January 1949. In

August 1950, Townsend was made deputy Master of the Household and

was moved to comptroller to the Queen Mother in

1952. He was promoted to group captain on 1 January 1953, and retired from

the Royal Household the

same year. Townsend served as air attaché in Brussels from 1953 to 1956, Townsend in 1970 said that he

and Margaret did not correspond and they had not seen each other since a

"friendly" 1958 meeting, "just like I think a lot of people

never see their old girl friends".[2

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