General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Sir Peter William Cradock Hellings, (6 September 1916 – 2 November 1990) was a Royal Marines officer who served as

Commandant General Royal Marines The Commandant General Royal Marines is the professional head of the Royal Marines. The title has existed since 1943. The role is held by a General who is assisted by a Deputy Commandant General, with the rank of brigadier. This position is not t ...

from 1968 to 1971.

Military career

Hellings joined the Royal Marines in 1935 and served in 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 opposi ...

as a company commander with

40 Commando 40 Commando RM is a battalion-sized formation of the British Royal Marines and subordinate unit within 3 Commando Brigade, the principal Commando formation, under the Operational Command of Commander in Chief Fleet. Their barracks are at Norton ...

,Sir Peter William Cradock Hellings
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives being awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

in 1940 and the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

during the fighting in Italy in 1943. He was also mentioned in Despatches in 1946 in recognition of his "gallant and distinguished services in North West Europe" during the closing stages of the war. Shortly after the end of the war, Hellings commanded

41 Commando 41 Commando or No. 41 (Royal Marine) Commando was a unit of the Royal Marines trained as Commandos during the Second World War. They were part of the all Royal Marine 4th Special Service Brigade that took part in the Normandy landings in June 1 ...

and

42 Commando 42 Commando (42 Cdo) (pronounced as Four-Two Commando) is a subordinate unit within the Royal Marines 3 Commando Brigade. Based at Bickleigh Barracks near Plymouth, personnel regularly deploy outside the United Kingdom on operations or training. ...

. He saw active service in Malaya in the early 1950s during the Malayan Emergency, and in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

during the

Cyprus Emergency The Cyprus Emergency ( gr, Απελευθερωτικός Αγώνας της Κύπρου 1955–59), also known as the Greek Cypriot War of Independence or Cypriot War of Independence, was a conflict fought in British Cyprus between November 1 ...

, for which he was mentioned in despatches in 1958. He was appointed commanding officer of

in 1958, commander of

3 Commando Brigade 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), previously called the 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces. It is composed of the Royal Marine Commandos, alongside commando qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen from ...

in 1959 and commander of the Infantry Training Centre Royal Marines in 1960. He went on to be Deputy Director of the Joint Warfare School in 1963, Chief of Staff to the

in 1964 and Commander Portsmouth Group Royal Marines in 1967. His last appointment was as Commandant General Royal Marines in 1968 before retiring in 1971. In retirement Hellings became Chairman of the Gas Consumers' Council for the South West,Gas Consumers' Councils (Chairmanship)
Hansard, 15 February 1973 and lived at Milton Combe in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hellings, Peter 1916 births 1990 deaths Royal Marines generals Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Military Cross British military personnel of the Malayan Emergency Royal Marines personnel of World War II British military personnel of the Cyprus Emergency Military personnel from Surrey