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Captain R P Letcher
Late Grenadier Guards
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 Captain Peter Letcher died aged 90, on 15th November 2014. During World War Two he applied to join the Grenadier Guards. As a potential officer, at his initial interview with the Regimental Lieutenant Colonel, he was asked if he knew anyone in the Regiment. He replied that Lord Manners was a friend of his father’s, whereupon the Lieutenant Colonel telephoned Lord Manners and said ‘Francis I have this young man Letcher here. You know him, I think. Is he alright?’ After Brigade Squad and officer training, he was commissioned in February 1944 and was posted to the Guards Training Battalion at Windsor. He served in 1st (Motor) Battalion as a platoon commander in the King’s Company and took part in the post Normandy battles as the Guards Division advanced from the Seine to the Rhine and beyond.
On 3rd September 1944, he fought in the highly successful action at Pont-à-Marcq near the Franco-Belgian frontier against spirited opposition from a German rearguard. Fifteen Grenadiers were killed and a large number were wounded including Letcher, who remained in action.
At the battle of Nijmegen, he fought with the King’s Company alongside the United States 82nd Airborne Division to secure the bridge, which opened the way to the North German plains.
In November 1944, he was seriously wounded by a shell splinter in the right arm at Gangelt, a small town just across the German border from Holland. He was Mentioned in Despatches in April 1946. In Germany, he served in on the staff of the Military Government and later the Central Commission as ADC to the Regional Commissioner of North Rhine and Westphalia and was demobilised in the rank of captain.
In 1947, he qualified as a solicitor and joined the family firm of Letcher and Son. He practised for several years before concentrating on international commercial work in the Eastern Bloc and underdeveloped parts of the world. He was a great countryman and enjoyed ocean racing, motor racing, point-to-pointing, hunting, shooting and fly fishing.
In 1957 he married Virginia Fenn-Smith and is survived by her, their two sons and five grandchildren. |
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