Group Captain Peter Wooldridge Townsend (22 November 1914 – 19 June 1995) was a British Royal Air Force officer, flying ace, courtier, and author. He served with distinction during the Second World War and, in 1944, was appointed equerry to King George VI, before later becoming comptroller of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's household. Townsend became widely known for his relationship with Princess Margaret, the younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II, which attracted significant public and political attention in the 1950s. He married twice and had five children. After leaving the Royal Household, he served as air attaché in Brussels and later pursued a successful writing career. He died in France in 1995 and has since been portrayed in the Netflix series The Crown.
Peter Wooldridge Townsend was born on 22 November 1914 in Rangoon, Burma, to Lieutenant Colonel Edward Copleston Townsend, of the British Indian Army, and his wife, Gladys, daughter of Herbert Hatt-Cook of Hartford Hall, Cheshire. At the time of their marriage, his father was 20 years older than his bride. The Townsend family, originally of Devon, traditionally sent its sons into the Church or the armed forces. Townsend was one of six children, with two brothers and three sisters. One brother, Philip, was awarded the DSO while serving with the 6th Gurkha Rifles, and one sister, Stephanie, married Arthur Gaitskell, brother of Hugh Gaitskell.
From 1928 to 1932, Townsend was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College, then an all-boys private 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 was posted to No. 1 Squadron RAF at RAF Tangmere, flying the Hawker Fury biplane fighter. In 1936, he was transferred to No. 36 Squadron RAF in Singapore, where he flew the Vickers Vildebeest torpedo bomber. He was promoted to flying officer on 27 January 1937, and returned to Tangmere later that year as a member of No. 43 Squadron RAF. Townsend was promoted to flight lieutenant on 27 January 1939.
In his memoir, Townsend described No. 605 Squadron's arrival at Tangmere shortly before the outbreak of war. He wrote:
Things hummed at Tangmere Cottage, just opposite the guard room, where [605's commanding officer John Willoughby de Broke and his wife Rachel] kept open house. There we spent wild evenings, drinking, singing, dancing to romantic tunes ... we danced blithely, relentlessly towards catastrophe ... With one chance in five of survival – not counting the burnt and the wounded – only a handful of us would come through.
The first enemy aircraft to crash on English soil during the Second World War fell 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 He 111 of 4./KG 26 near Whitby. The pilots were Flight Lieutenant Townsend, Flying Officer "Tiger" Folkes, and Sergeant Herbert Hallowes. Townsend claimed two further He 111s on 22 February and 8 April, and a sixth share on 22 April. Enemy aircraft had previously been shot down in 1939 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 regarded as one of the most capable squadron leaders of the Battle of Britain. He served 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 it, forcing the bomber to crash-land at Arras. Return fire ruptured the Hurricane's coolant system, and Townsend ditched 20 miles (32 km) from the English coast, where he was rescued by HM Trawler Cape Finisterre. He was mentioned in despatches the same month.
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 that passed through the glycol tank and exploded in the cockpit. He continued to lead the squadron on the ground even after the wound resulted in the amputation of his big toe, 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 unit in destroying at least 10 more and damaging many others. The citation stated: "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 in early 1941. In May 1941, by then an acting wing commander and credited with shooting down at least 11 enemy aircraft, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). His citation recorded that he 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 squadron."
Townsend 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 subsequently commanded No. 611 Squadron RAF, a Spitfire unit. He later led 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 destroyed, two shared, two "probables" and four damaged.
In 1944, Townsend was appointed temporary equerry to King George VI; he had previously served as the future king's flight instructor in the 1930s. Later that 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 appointed deputy Master of the Household, and after the death of George VI in 1952 he was moved to the post of comptroller to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. He was promoted to group captain on 1 January 1953, and retired from the Royal Household later that year.
Townsend served as air attaché in Brussels from 1953 to 1956.