Sir Peter Francis Thorne (6 August 1914 – 16 March 2004) was a
British Army officer.
Family and education
Thorne was the son of
General Sir Augustus Francis Andrew Nicol Thorne and the Hon. Margaret
Douglas-Pennant (daughter of
George Douglas-Pennant, 2nd Baron Penrhyn
George Sholto Gordon Douglas-Pennant, 2nd Baron Penrhyn (30 September 1836 – 10 March 1907), was a landowner who played a prominent part in the Welsh slate industry as the owner of the Penrhyn Quarry in North Wales.
Life
He was born at Linton ...
).
His cousin was the courtier
Dame Frances Campbell-Preston.
He was educated at
Eton College before attending
Trinity College, Oxford.
Whilst at Oxford, in 1934, he joined the
regimental reserve of the
Grenadier Guards, his father's regiment.
In 1959 Thorne married the physicist
Anne Patricia Pery (daughter of
Edmund Colquhoun Pery, 5th Earl of Limerick, and
Angela Olivia Trotter), with whom he had one son and three daughters.
Career
Thorne crossed to
France with the 3rd Battalion of the Grenadier Guards in 1939 to fight in
World War II.
He was wounded at
Comines, Nord
Comines (; nl, Komen) is a commune of the Nord department in northern France.
Geography
The town of Comines sits on the Franco-Belgian border and is split into two parts: Comines (France) and Comines (Belgium), part of the municipality of Comin ...
, during the
Allied retreat to Dunkirk.
In 1976 he served as the 33rd
Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons
The Serjeant at Arms of the House of Commons is a parliamentary official responsible for order in the House of Commons. The office dates to 1415 and traditionally included responsibility for security. The role is now mainly ceremonial.
The Hou ...
.
Thorne was a member of the
Cavalry and Guards Club and the
Royal Yacht Squadron.
He died on 16 March 2004, aged 89.
Publications
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorne, Peter Francis
1914 births
2004 deaths
Serjeants-at-Arms of the British House of Commons
British Army personnel of World War II
People educated at Eton College
Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford
Grenadier Guards officers