Notes
Peter Roger Anson Ford was born in Edinburgh on 8 May 1917, the eldest son of Kathleen (née Morris) and the Reverend Roger Anson Ford. He was educated first at George Watson’s College from 1925 to 1931, and then at Trinity College Glenalmond from 1931 to 1936 where he was a Lance Corporal in the Officer Training Corps.
In 1936 Peter Ford was awarded scholarships to both Keble College and Worcester College in Oxford, and chose the more valuable one at Worcester. He entered the College on 9 October 1936, but left without taking a degree, and joined the RAF in 1938. While at Worcester he was a member of the College Boat Club, rowing in the 2nd Torpid and 2nd Eight in 1937.
Peter Ford was commissioned as an Acting Pilot Officer on a short service commission in the Royal Air Force on the 4th of June 1938 and was confirmed in his rank on the 4th of April 1939. He was promoted to Flying Officer on the 3rd of September 1940 and to Flight Lieutenant on the 3rd of September 1941. He saw service in Malta, Cairo, India and in Burma where he won the Distinguished Flying Cross, which was announced by the Air Ministry on the 24th of March 1942. He was serving with 113 Squadron when he was wounded during an attack on enemy shipping off Sicily. He was promoted to Squadron Leader on the 29th of December 1942 and returned to the UK in 1943.
On 20 June 1944, Peter Ford and his crew from 180 Squadron took off from RAF Dunsfold for a mission to bomb the V1 flying bomb site at Bois Coquerelle, near Abbeville. While over the target area the aircraft was hit in the nose by a burst of flak and exploded on the ground at Liercourt. The entire crew was killed, including Squadron Leader Peter Ford, who was 27 years old.
Peter Ford is buried at St Pierre Cemetery, Amiens, and commemorated on the war memorials at George Watson’s College and Worcester College, Oxford.