Major-General Peter John Blunt, (8 August 1923 – 8 August 2003) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer and businessman. As a logistics officer in 1959, he was awarded the

George Medal The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in circ ...

for risking his own life to save one of his drivers. He was the father of politician

Crispin Blunt Crispin Jeremy Rupert Blunt (born 15 July 1960) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Reigate since 1997. A member of the Conservative Party, he was the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prisons and ...

and grandfather of actress

Emily Blunt Emily Olivia Leah Blunt (born 23 February 1983) is a British actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awards. ...

Early life

Born at

Farnborough, Hampshire Farnborough is a town in northeast Hampshire, England, part of the borough of Rushmoor and the Farnborough/Aldershot Built-up Area. Farnborough was founded in Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times and is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name is ...

, into an army family, Blunt was the son of Claudia Mabel (''née'' Wintle) and Albert Blunt, then a sergeant in the Royal Tank Corps. In 1929, his family moved to

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...

, where he was educated. He left India in 1937 at the age of 14 to enroll as an apprentice tradesman in the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

(RASC) school on the island of

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

Military career

In 1940, after the

fall of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...

, and with the

German occupation of the Channel Islands The military occupation of the Channel Islands by Nazi Germany lasted for most of the Second World War, from 30 June 1940 until liberation on 9 May 1945. The Bailiwick of Jersey and Bailiwick of Guernsey are two island countries and British ...

imminent, the school was evacuated and Blunt found himself in an RASC training battalion in England. Shortly after his 18th birthday, he was sent to the Mediterranean theatre, but first won the lightweight inter-service boxing contest at

Letchworth Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249. Letchworth ...

, Hertfordshire. He saw active service in the Italian campaign in 1944, before returning to England for officer training. He was then commissioned into the 2nd Battalion, The

Royal Scots Fusiliers The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Mar ...

in November 1944 as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

and commanded a close protection platoon defending Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery's

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established in ...

headquarters. He was present at the signing of the unconditional German surrender at

Lüneburg Heath Lüneburg Heath (german: Lüneburger Heide) is a large area of heath, geest, and woodland in the northeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It forms part of the hinterland for the cities of Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen a ...

on 4 May 1945. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Blunt served also in the

Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1959. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, by the merger of the 32nd (Cornwall Light ...

. After an appointment as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of the British Army garrison in Dieppe, Blunt left the army in 1946 and joined the

Allied Control Commission Following the termination of hostilities in World War II, the Allies were in control of the defeated Axis countries. Anticipating the defeat of Germany and Japan, they had already set up the European Advisory Commission and a proposed Far Eastern ...

in Germany, then was an inspector at

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes ( Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years following ...

. He briefly worked as an export manager of the Midland Metal Spinning Company in Wolverhampton but in 1949 returned to the army on a short-service commission in the

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is a corps of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's Professional Engineers". History Prior to REME's for ...

. As he was unable to advance without a university degree, Blunt transferred back to the Royal Army Service Corps in 1951 on a regular commission. He passed the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which i ...

, in 1957, which opened up his career path as an officer. In 1959, Blunt saved a driver whose lorry, carrying a load of

petrol Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...

, crashed near Bielefeld, Germany. While the injured driver was trapped in the cab, Blunt—with disregard for his own safety—climbed into the cab and applied a tourniquet to the driver's badly injured leg and administered morphine. Despite the risk of fire, Blunt stayed with the injured and frightened man for an hour, until he was cut from the vehicle. He was awarded the

for his courage and humanitarian action. Blunt passed the Joint Services Staff College in 1963, and then in 1965 was sent to command 26 (Heavy Ferry) Bridging Regiment and, by some accounts, to resolve a mutiny. Later that year the unit became 26 Regiment,

Royal Corps of Transport The Royal Corps of Transport (RCT) was a British Army Corps established to manage all matters in relation to the transport of men and material for the Army and the wider Defence community. It was formed in 1965 and disbanded in 1993; its units and ...

. In 1968 he was appointed General Staff Officer 1 for Defence Plans,

Far East Land Forces The Far East Command was a British military command which had 2 distinct periods. These were firstly, 18 November 1940 – 7 January 1942 succeeded by the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command ( ABDACOM), and secondly, 1963–1971 succeeded ...

, and from 1970 to 1972 commanded the

1st Corps, before being seconded to the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

in 1972. After service as Deputy Transport Officer-in-Chief for the Army, Blunt became Transport Officer-in-Chief in 1973, then was Assistant Chief of Personnel and Logistics (Army) at the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

in 1977–78 and Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Personnel and Logistics), 1978–79, when he retired the service, while continuing in the ceremonial role of Colonel Commandant of the Royal Corps of Transport (1974–1989).

Corporate career

Entering the world of business, Blunt was 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. Blunt was a special Commissioner of the

Royal Hospital, Chelsea The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse, the ancient sense of the word "hospital", it is a site located on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea. It is an in ...

, from 1979 to 1985, and a liveryman of the

Worshipful Company of Carmen The Worshipful Company of Carmen is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London, whose origins date back to 1517. Carmen, or drivers of carts, caused upset in 1481.

from 1973. His address at the time of his death was Harefield House, Ramsbury, in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

Family

In 1949, Blunt married Adrienne the daughter of General T. W. Richardson, and they had three sons, including Oliver Blunt QC, and

, Conservative

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Reigate. His grandchildren include the actress

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blunt, Peter 1923 births 2003 deaths British Army major generals British Army personnel of World War II Companions of the Order of the Bath Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Farnborough, Hampshire Recipients of the George Medal Royal Corps of Transport officers Royal Army Service Corps soldiers Royal Scots Fusiliers officers Military personnel from Hampshire Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley