AN RAF war veteran who was part of Bomber Command in the Second World War has died at the age of 100.
And hero Peter John Gould, who lived in Charford, will receive full military honours when his funeral takes place at Redditch Crematorium at 2pm on Tuesday, April 9. There will also be a wake at the Jinney Ring Craft Centre in Hanbury after his funeral.
Peter was born in Bombay in 1923 and sailed to England in 1939 to enrol in the Royal Air Force.
He trained as a flight engineer, flew Lancaster Bomber and was part of 98 Squadron in Bomber Command and part of the Pathfinder Force on D-Day.
He completed a full tour of duty during the Second World War, surviving a total of 45 sorties. He was awarded the Legion d’Honneur – France’s top military honour – for operations his squadron carried out on the day of the Normandy Landings..
After the RAF, he worked as a sales manager in Remington in Leicester before going onto work as a fire protection engineer and manager at Chubbs until he retired at the age of 65.
He was an active member of the Bromsgrove community – a member and former president of the Bromsgrove Lions and as a treasurer for the RAF Benevolent Fund. He also volunteered for the Royal British Legion and became a member of the u3a. When he was in his 80s, he learnt to use a computer and wrote a book called ‘The Best Twelve Years’ – his insight into his time in the RAF.
In his personal life, Peter married Kath and they had four children – Christopher, Jennifer, Pamela and Patricia. Sadly Kath passed away at the age of 52.
Peter had seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
Peter later married Sylvia who has also since passed away.
Peter Gould celebrates his 100th birthday. Picture by Marcus Mingins 4823005MMR1 www.buyphotos247.com
Peter was featured in The Standard when he turned 100 on November 24 last year.
