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Post by kootenayguy on Apr 16, 2008 2:31:29 GMT
Hello. I live in the city of Trail in British Columbia, Canada. I am a great-nephew of Frederic Thornton Peters who received his VC for his role in the Allied invasion of North Africa on Nov. 8, 1942. His sister Helen Peters Dewdney (my grandfather) often talked about her younger brother "Fritz" when she lived with my family when I was growing up. Now I'm semi-retired from a career in corporate communications and I'm gathering information on Fritz for a family history I am writing on the Peters family. Fritz was unusual in that he won medals in both world wars: the DSO and DSC in WW1, and a bar to the DSC, VC and U.S. DSC in WW2. I have learned a lot about the VC in my research and look forward to participating in this forum.
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Post by Les on Apr 16, 2008 6:39:22 GMT
Welcome to our little home. You've probably already got a bulk of the VC related info about your great uncle, but if there is anything specific you may be stuck on, please feel free to ask.
Les
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Post by kootenayguy on Feb 2, 2009 4:39:08 GMT
There is a mistake in the listing for F.T. Peters, saying he died in a plane crash "off Gibraltar". The flying boat with a crew from the RAAF left Gibraltar and ran into bad weather which ran down its fuel, but the plane did make it to near its destination of Plymouth, only to run into heavy fog. The plane's altimeter malfunctioned, showing it at 600 feet when it mistakenly hit the water in Plymouth Sound. Peters and the other four passengers died, but all 11 of the crew survived. The wreckage was spotted by a Plymouth recreational diver in 1985. The diver and friends recovered some fusilage and the plane's propellor, and contacted people in Australia who were very interested in the discovery. The propellor went on display at an air force historical museum in Perth, Australia in 1987. On hand for the opening of the exhibition were the captain and flight engineer from the fatal flight. I saw a scan of a Western Australia newspaper article about the event. Thorpe was quoted in the article as saying he saw Peters' body in the water and tried to drag him to safety, but he was clearly dead. With live witnesses from the crash and wreckage recovered, that's pretty conclusive proof of what happened to the plane. I haven't been able to find out if these two men or any other crew members are still alive.
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Post by norwood on Feb 2, 2009 5:44:13 GMT
Welcome kootenayguy
Norwood
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Post by Les on Feb 2, 2009 7:44:10 GMT
kootenayguy
Thanks for the info. I'll arrange the correction to the entry shortly.
Les
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Post by Les on Feb 2, 2009 19:34:32 GMT
As promised, the entry has been updated. I don't suppose you have a photo of him I could use please? I currently only have a pic of his medals.
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